European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 16, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes monday february 16,1987 Ellen Goodman ruling is another Victory for working women there was a time when nearly every pregnant working woman was Given special treatment she was escorted Ever so chivalrous by right out the door. In those bad old Days it was assumed Thill the one True path to Equality and Job Security was to get employers to treat preg Nant workers the Way icy treated other workers pregnancy Many of us argued is not a disease and pregnant workers arc not automatically incapacitated. Legislation was passed in 1978 that outlawed discrimination. You could t fire a worker just because she was preg Nant. But on the other hand you did i have to make any allowances for the pregnancy. This was the sort of rigid Equality we called Progress. There emerged Oul of this period a kind of pregnancy machismo. To this Day Many women especially in the professional world Trade Talei of How they finished Itter Brief or newspaper Story while having contractions every 10 minutes. Women in non traditional jobs often have fell compelled to prove thai they can put in As Long a Day Asan Man even if it s the ninth Day of the ninth month. This bravado or bravado if you pre Fer was largely fuelled by the fear that icy would be punished for being Dif Ferent pregnant women could he sure of their jobs Only As Long As they fit no matter what shape they were in into the same Mold As men. As a policy this makes As much sense As everybody s favorite clothing Label on size fits All. Gradually we have been trying to make a midcourse correction in the path of Equality. Voung women who feel More secure in the work place and yet More stressed by he expectation of being employee and Mother have begun to insist that some leeway some breathing room some consideration be Given to pregnancy no after not lick states Are devising and passing pregnancy disability and leave policies. But those of us who re member the bad old Days have wondered can you devise a policy that gives preferential treatment to pregnant women without it backfiring enter the supreme court. Last month five members of the court who Range in philosophy from Scalia to mar Carl Rowan shall upheld a California Law hat gives pregnant women some preference. The Law requires employers to Grant up to tour months of unpaid leave to women disabled by pregnancy and child birth even if such leaves Are not granted for other disabilities. The employer in question California Federal savings and loan association said the slate violated the Federal Law against discrimination. The so. Presented itself As a defender of Equality though in was defending the right to treat All workers equally shabbily. The decision written by Justice mar shall went to the Core of the problem and said by taking pregnancy into account California s pregnancy disability leave statute allows women As Well As men to have families without losing their  but perhaps the most important line in the decision affirmed that the Federal Taw was a floor beneath which pregnancy disability benefits May not drop not a ceiling above which they May not  this was a direct signal to the Stales that they can offer extra Bene fits to pregnant workers. What next the California Law docs raise the ceiling of benefits to pregnant women but just a few inches. It Only covers the physical disability of child Canna not child caring. What working fam Vilics need is a much wider support system to have families without losing their jobs and jobs without losing their families. The supreme court has said that we May allow the special treatment of preg Nancy. The decision is a real hut not a final Victory for working women. Another midcourse correction looms ahead in the path toward Equality. At this moment in change we need to do More than just make in n bit easier for women to carry the double Burden of work and Home. We need to share the Load. It s important to mute any disadvantage that employers find in hiring women. It s equally important to engage men in the earliest stages of their children s lives. We have finally begun to raise the Ceil ing. Now it s time to raise the roof. For airlines deregulation Means deterioration More and More the . Airline Industry is sinking into a morass of cutthroat takeovers fratricidal fare wars that rest on shameful bait and switch Lac tics a deterioration of services the abandonment of Courtesy and dubious safety practices. The Public leaps at the Semi phony offers of fare reductions thinking the Little Guy passenger is get Ting a break Only to find that he is being Suek Rcd inconvenienced and herded around like an animal by an air transportation system that is out of control. If you think i overstate the Case listen to my person Al Saga of a weekend trip to Las vegas to speak 10 some of the nation s automobile dealer. The Eastern airlines flight from Washington to Kansas City was tolerably pleasant because the Cabin Crew made it so. Even while serving food that i would not touch anywhere except in the confinement of an Airliner is Miles above a Safe piece of ground. But Eastern s flight 249 from Kansas City to Las vegas was the beginning of one of the most cd Sperat ing air journeys i be had in a zillion trips. I walked aboard to hear the chief stewardess Tell a first class passenger no Champagne new  i held up the garment bag containing the freshly pressed outfit my wife wanted me to Wear at uie speech and said could i gel this Hung please Streich it out in an overhead bin the combative Brunette said. You mean a first Clasi passenger can t gel a Gar ment bag Hung there is no first class anymore she said arrogantly. We re under new  what do you mean. No first class ? my hosts have paid almost 11,000 for a first class  things Aren t what they used to be. New ownership she said. I realized that i was caught up in a Nasty Little War Between Eastern s new owners and employees who Don t want to Lake pay cuts or who know thai Passen Gers who pay a regular fare 10 Fly in coach or first class Are being Gyp Ped. On that very Day. Eastern was paying High prices for ads in most american newspapers advertising Max savers or fares lower than the heralded super Sav  i sensed that Eastern eventually would pay a higher Price for the destructive word of Routh Adver Tising that angry passengers voiced to me in Las vegas and in route Home to Atlanta As our plane was delayed because our Crew another unhappy Snarky one was late arriving from Newark. But Eastern and its sister takeover victim Continental airlines had shaken up the Industry and forced the other major airlines to play a fare wars game thai ought to be declared criminal because of its blatant bait and switch nature. Recently while Reading the newspaper at 5 ., i noticed an Eastern and announcing an especially Low fare to Florida. I called the airline immediately and was told that All those seats Are  at the civilized hour of 9  1 called a Friend who is an Eastern executive and asked what the hell is this i Call be fore most anyone has seen your and but icy won t sell me a Seal at the advertised Price the executive called me Back to say i got you a Seal at the advertised Price. But t want to Tell you something i m ashamed of Eastern allocated exactly one scat on that plane to the Price in those  look at the ads by pan am Twa american Bra Niff and All the other airlines that have been forced to match the fare War gambit of Texas air corp., which swallowed up Eastern Continental and people express. The Fine print in every and says seats Are or May be limited.1 people Are baited to Call in for temptingly Low fares and then Are offered a seat that costs a lot More than the and indicates. I think Texas air has sown the seeds of its own destruction. But then that is Only one of the abominable results of airline deregulation a concept that some of my favorite democrats embraced to the great and growing detriment of vast millions of american air travellers