Nurses challenge women’s pay for women’s work Eight Denver nurses are challenging the time-honored practice of women’s pay for women’s work. The nurses, employed by the City Health and Hospitals Department, believe they are not getting a fair deal on their paychecks, and they are taking the issue to court.

Yes, they are paid as much as male nurses: that’s not the issue. They do not believe they are paid as much as employees in male- dominated jobs with similar education and supervisory responsibility.

The nurses, now formally organized as NURSE, INC, are on the staff at Denver Gen- eral Hospital and the Visiting Nurses Service. We talked recently with Lois Cady, associate director of nursing at Denver General, one nurse in what may be a history-making group.

The challenge started about two years ago when some of the nurses noted what they now called the “page” in the Pay Survey Recorn- mendations published by the Career Service Authority, Denver’s hiring agency. The page listed professional and administrative salary levels, and it suddenly became quite clear that nurses, although classified as professionals, were paid below the professional and adminis- trative salary levels enjoyed by other profes- sionals.

When the group started comparing nurses’ salaries to male classes of employment requir-

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ing equal education, supervisory respon- sibilities, and experience, it found these employees making $39 to $138 per month more than comparable nursing positions.

The Denver City Charter states explicitly, “like pay for like work.” But nursing salaries for the city are determined by surveying other nurses’ salaries in the city. This practice, claim the nurses, perpetuates sex discrimination. The nurses want their jobs compared to male-oriented professions with similar educa- tional requirements and responsibilities.

How do you prove that a nurse’s job is com- parable to that of, for example, a management analyst? The group has compiled statistics with a fervor. “We have a file full,” says Ms Cady. From this data, the group has concluded that categories with higher salaries are dominated by men. “We found that physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, as well as nurses, are all profes- sionals, primarily women, and paid less,” re- ports Ms Cady.

The next step is a job-worth study compar- ing male and female jobs based on factors such as educational background, knowledge required, experience, skills, and respon- sibilities. “ 1 think they will find the worth of nursing as great, if not greater, than a buyer, a personnel technician, or a management con- sultant,” Ms Cady commented.

The first legal steps have been taken. A complaint has been filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which administers Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, an important federal law for women’s employment rights. This legislation

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makes it unlawful for employers, employment agencies, and labor unions to discriminate in hiring, job classification, promotion, wages, fringe benefits, discharge or other terms, con- ditions, and privileges of employment.

But because EEOC’s backlog of complaints might mean a long delay, the nurses plan to file suit in federal district court in the spring. Even so, they will probably face a six-month delay before getting on the docket.

They have two lawyers, Craig Barnes, prin- ciple attorney for the case, and Kathleen Peratis, head of the Women’s Rights Division of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in New York City, consultant.

Denver is not exactly sitting back compla- cently. The City Council has appropriated $20,000 to fight the case; primarily tohire a Chicago law firm. The law firm warned the city “the nurses’ charges should be considered ex- ceedingly serious if handled properly.”

It costs money to take on the city in a legal battle. Initial funding for the project came from a 10% contribution of a month’s salaryfrom the supervisory and administration groups and has been augmented by staff contributions. A finance committee is organizing projects to raise additional funds. The American Nurses’ Association has contributed for support of legal expenses.

In general, other nurses, physicians, and even the administration (not directly responsi- ble for their salaries) have been supportive of the nurses’ efforts.

What happens if NURSE, INC, wins its case? First, the city will have to look at more equitable ways of determining salaries. The 500 RNs and 100 LPNs employed by the city would probably benefit from higher salaries and retroactive pay.

But the shock waves from the suit could go beyond Denver and the profession of nursing. The city attorney’s office sees the suit as a test case which might have national significance. Nurses throughout the country may benefit. In the health care field, occupational and physical therapists, medical technologists, and dieti- cians might benefit. Other female-dominated fields such as social work and teachers might be able to use the case as a precedent.

Despite many advances, women are still at a disadvantage in the job market. In fact, women

are earning less compared to men than they were in the 195Os, according to the US De- partment of Labor. In 1955, women’s median earnings were 63.9% of men’s; in 1973 wo- men’s earnings had dropped to 56.6% of men’s.

NURSE, INC, may strike a serious blow to the tradition of women’s pay for women’s work. It could mean a difference in your paycheck.

Elinor S Schrader Editor

Weight- bearing treatment aids fracture healing Having patients walk immediately after treatment has reduced the infection rate in leg fractures, according to a report presented to the Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in San Francisco.

Ernst Dehne, MD, FACS, professor of orthopedic surgery at Texas Technical University Medical School, El Paso, Tex, said that a combination cast and brace permits immediate weight bearing on the acutely fractured thigh bone.

standard treatment, but only a third as long as putting the leg in traction.

“Weight-bearing treatment of tibia fractures does not accelerate healing but if weight-bearing is deprived, recovery is delayed,” said Dr Dehne. “The main benefit of the approach, however, lies in avoiding complications, specifically infection.”

after World War II because of the large number of infected compound fractures among soldiers that resulted in hospitalization as long as 50 months and occasionally an amputation.

on top of them were lost,” he said. “It was slowly realized that those patients had little or no opportunity to bear weight between surgical procedures. Once that had sunk in, the problem of infection dissolved. Compound fractures, infected fractures, and even fractures with bone exposed healed readily under weight-bearing management.”

Healing time is similar, 10 to 12 weeks, as

Dr Dehne said the treatment was started

“Even if the legs finally recovered, the men

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