INITIATING A COMPARABLE WORTH WAGE POLICY IN MINNESOTA: NOTES FROM THE FIELD

Policy Studies Review, May 1986, Vol. 5, No. 4

Sara M. Evans and Barbara J. Nelson

INITIATING A COMPARABLE WORTH WAGE POLICY IN MINNESOTA: NOTES FROM THE FIELD

As of January 1986, Minnesota had progressed farther than any other state in implementing a comparable worth (pay equi ty) wage policy for publ ic employees. This policy is controlled by two statutes, the 1982 State Employees Pay Equity Act, covering state employees, and the 1984 Local Government Pay Equity Act, covering employees of a l l types o f local jur ls- dictions. Both laws were designed as l'processll bills, that i s to say, they established in law the principle o f paying public employees by a comparable worth standard, and for the local law, described a process by which jurisdict ions can determine whether pay equity bias exists. Neither law carr ied an appropriation. The state pay equity plan has been fully appropriated by two legislative appropriations, and i f the last appropriation is not withheld, state-level pay equity w i l l have been implemented in four years. The methods for financing pay equity raises in local jurisdictions have not yet been worked out. Local jur isdict ions have hoped that state government would help support some pa r t o f local pay equity raises from state general revenues, but a shortfal l in state revenues In 1986 (due in large pa r t to a tax cu t in 1985) makes asking for assistance problematic and receiving it unl ikely.

This art icle i s an analysis o f Minnesota's pay equity policy so far, a report from the f ield midway through the init iat ion and implementation processes. The objectives are to provide the f i r s t detailed chronology recounting the init iat ion o f th is policy in Minnesota, and to analyze the Minnesota experience against the backdrop o f national ef for ts to adopt and implement th is policy. The paper has four sections: a short commentary on Minnesota's importance as a case study, a definit ion o f the issue o f comparable worth in Minnesota, the history and politics o f pay equity policy in Minnesota, and an analysis o f Minnesota's role in a national campaign to change wage policy.

MINNESOTA AS A CASE STUDY

In a volume on the cur ren t issues o f comparable worth policy it is useful to ref lect on the role o f the case studies that are presented. A self-conscious consideration o f what kind o f knowledge Is available from a case study is part icular ly important in this volume, where the policies being analyzed are st i l l being debated and have been only part ial ly implemented. In Minnesota, at least, unanticipated political or economic conditions might change implementation substantially.

The information and analysis reported in this art icle are par t o f an 18-jurisdiction study o f the political, economic, and social consequences of

This research was supported by grants from the Northwest Area Founda- t ion and the Office of the Academic Vice-president, the Center fo r Urban and Regional Affairs, the Graduate School and the Hubert H. Humphrey Inst i tute, a l l a t the University o f Minnesota. We would l ike to thank Lavon Anderson, L i z Conway, and Nancy Johnson Haggmark for research assistance, and Linda Baumann, Donna Kern and Louise Straus for sec- retar ia l support.

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the init iat ion o f comparable worth wage policies. The sources o f data include interviews w i t h part icipants in the policy process, publ ic and private documents, newspaper accounts, and transcripts o f the sessions at the national conference "New Directions in Comparable Worth: Minnesota and the Nation" held in Minneapolis from October 17 to 19, 1985. This article does not af ford us the opportunity to discuss in detail the methodology we have used o r some of the part icular ly interesting Issues raised b y case studies o f serial cases that are loosely connected. We can comment on how Minnesota's experience is similar to o r di f ferent from other jur is- dictions, as a way o f art iculat ing some o f the dimensions on which we have made comparisons. As Alexander George has suggested, the objective of case studies is "to formulate the idiosyncratic aspects o f the explanation for each case in terms o f general variables'' (1979, p. 46; see also Verba, 1967; Eckstein, 1975).

Minnesota offers a useful and perhaps provocative case study, both for theorists of publ ic policy and for practitioners, Part o f the importance o f the Minnesota experience is that Minnesota was the f i r s t state to pass and implement comparable worth wage legislation for both state and local employees. (The ef for ts in Minnesota were aided by almost a decade o f activism in Washington State and the presence o f a national publ ic interest group, the National Committee on Pay Equity.) As a resul t o f Minnesota's success, many advocates o f pay equity qui te openly look to the state to be a model for the substance and process o f in i t iat ing the policy in their jurisdictions. But when Minnesota passed both o f i t s laws, the opposition was largely unorganized, and when It was vocal, not especially emotional o r disparaging. Now, four years later, the policymaking milieu has changed. Crit ics are better organized and qui te l ikely to use emotional and disparaging arguments (Johansen, 1984; Minneapolis Star and Tribune, November 17, 1984).

A t f i rs t glance, Minnesota's experience w i t h agenda setting appears to be in the paradoxical position o f being emulated but not easily replicable. But the political strength o f cr i t ics is not the only variable which importantly affects consideration o f pay equity proposals, and indeed, the organization o f opponents may have been overstated. A whole constellation of factors is associated w i t h successful ef for ts to init iate the consideration of a comparable worth policy a t the state level: unionization o f the public work force, especially by union(s) support ing th is issue; organized feminist support, preferably w i t h governmental connections; a support ive c iv i l service commission; and a political cul ture linking moralism and a dr ive for technocratic excellence combine to make the consideration o f pay equity more likely. When supporters hold both houses o f the legislature and the executive branch (or often, even two o f the three governmental bodies as in New York and New Jersey), i t may be possible to overcome an increasingly hostile general environment (Johansen, 1984; Nelson, 1984).

The decision o f Minnesota legislators to init iate a state law requir ing local jurisdictions to adopt a comparable worth wage standard for their employees has not yet been copied. It is not clear what political and organizational conditions beyond an i ron political wi l l and nimble legislative maneuvering foster such a move. Constitutionally, i t appears that most states could pass such legislation, unless the home-rule (i.e., local con- t ro l ) sections o f state constitutions specifically prohibi t it. A tradi t ion o f state control of many wage policies, such as minimum wage and maximum hours legislation, creates a legislative framework for such acts. Certainly, If the professional associations representing the types o f local jur is- dictions--school boards, cities, counties and the like--oppose such legislation, i t is less l ikely to pass. Examining the local comparable worth

Evans/Nelson: Initiating a Comparable Worth Wage Policy in Minnesota 851

legislation in Minnesota g ives u s a window on mandated implementation. If comparable wor th i s requ i red of local governments by other states, o r i f it were requ i red o f p r iva te employers, t h e implementation processes might v e r y l i ke ly resemble local compliance in Minnesota.

It is too ear ly in the implementation process t o categorize the Minnesota experience in to any specific implementation model, and ex is t ing models may not fully capture the situation in this, o r any other, specific case s tudy (see, e.g., Mazmanian & Sabatier, 1983; Ripley 6 Frankl in , 1986). .We can note, however, those condit ions tha t faci l i tate implementation and evaluate the Minnesota experience against them. Mazmanian and Sabatier c luster the variables invo lved around three headings: the t rac tab i l i t y o f the problem, the ab i l i t y o f a s ta tute t o s t r u c t u r e implementation, a n d nonstatutory variables af fect ing implementation (pp. 18-43). State and local implementa- t ion o f pay equi ty in Minnesota show ra ther signif icant dif ferences in the factors impinging o n implementation. Not surpr is ing ly , the implementation o f pay equ i ty fo r state employees was easier because it encompassed only one government, employed an ex is t ing technology, requ i red v e r y l i t t le behavioral change ( though a t t i tude change was a b igger job) , and was led by the person who helped t o d r a f t the clear and s t ra lght forward statutes. Implementation in the 1,583 local jur isd ic t ions could n o t be anyth ing but more complicated. In par t icu lar , a c lear ly w r i t t e n statute on ly par t ia l ly balanced the fact tha t most jur isd ic t ions had t o choose o r create a job evaluation technology, and teach i t s appl icat ion t o anywhere from 10 to 40 people (while educating the work force on pay equi ty in general) In situa- t ions where local leaders ranged from cautiously suppor t lve t o actively hostile. The state had no economic sanctions against localities which did not conform t o the repor t ing requirements o f the local pay equi ty law, nor were cit izens monitoring groups act ive in most jur isdict ions.

A DEFINITION OF COMPARABLE WORTH WAGE POLICY IN MINNESOTA

B y and large, the members o f the Minnesota House and Senate devel- oped a reasonably good understanding o f the specific detai ls o f pay equi ty wage pol icy during the law-making process. Advocates o f the state pay equ i ty bill came t o i t s hearings armed w i t h persuasive graphs showing tha t jobs o f equal value t o the State o f Minnesota were n o t pa id equivalently. Suppor ters argued fo r equivalent pay fo r different jobs tha t are judged t o be equal based on technical evaluations o f sk i l l , e f fo r t , responsibi l i ty, and work ing conditions. In Minnesota state government, t h i s pol icy values female-dominated jobs l i k e secretary as equlvalent t o male-domlnated jobs l ike de l ivery van d r i v e r and requi res tha t the wages o f secretaries be raised to thosee o f de l ivery v a n dr ivers .

A more technical descript ion o f the pol icy i s usefu l t o understanding i t s pol i t ical h is tory . Stated formally, comparable wor th i s a wage pol icy requiring equal pay w i th in a ju r isd lc t ion o r f i rm fo r job classifications tha t a re valued equally in terms o f sk i l l , e f for t , responsibi l i ty, and work ing conditions. In practice, implementing t h i s po l icy requi res the application o f a single job evaluation system t o a l l job classifications w i th in the ju r is - d ic t ion or f irm. The single job evaluation system measures in detai l the sk i l l , e f for t , responsibi l i ty, and work ing condit ions o f every job classifica- t ion and combines the scores in each area t o produce a single overal l score f o r every classification. Job classifications w i t h equal overal l scores are considered to have equal value t o the jur isd ic t ion o r f irm, Under a comparable wor th wage pol icy, classifications of equal value are pald equivalent ly . A large number o f studies have shown, however, tha t few equally evaluated job classifications are pa id equivalently. In most workplaces, If

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two job classifications have the same value according t o the job evaluation system, but one Is held primari ly by men and the other i s held primari ly b y women, the job held by men usually pays more (Nelson, 1985a).

Minnesota used the results o f an exist ing Hay Associates point-factor job evaluation to determine whether jobs evaluated equivalently were paid equivalently. As Figure 1 shows, a t equal Hay Point values, jobs dominated b y women often paid less than those dominated by men (Minnesota Department of Employee Relations, 1986). The state o f Minnesota chose to use the male' line (line A on the diagram) as the measure o f nondiscrimina- tory salary practices, and raised the salaries o f equivalent jobs dominated b y women to that line. Balanced classes (not shown on the diagram) or male-dominated classes o f equivalent value that fel l below the male salary line, were not given pay equity raises.

2.8

2.7 - 2.6 - 2.5 - 2.4 - 2.3 - 2.2 - 2.1 -

2 -

1.9 -

Figure 1

* * p L

A

Source: Utnnesota Department of Employee Relations

Although not al l local jur isdict ions have completed the i r pay equity analyses, preliminary Information suggests that some localities may not use the male salary line In determining comparable worth wage rates. Some localities plan to use an average between the male and female lines and others mentioned that they plan to raise salaries within a range called an "equality corr idor" (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 14, 1985). The "average wage" approach does no t have the support of the Minnesota Department o f Employee Relations (DOER) even though It has been used in

Evanr/Nelson: I n i t i a t i n g a Comparable Worth Wage Po l icy i n Minnesota 853

the state o f Washington pay equ i ty discussions since 1976. Minnesota employee relat ions off icials believe t h a t the local pay equ i ty law requires the use o f the male salary l ine in set t ing comparable wor th wages and tha t localit ies a re open t o s u i t over the issue. Some localit ies clearly disagree. Local un ions w i l l ul t imately have t o decide whether they wish t o press the issue.

In a number o f jur isd ic t ions outside o f Minnesota, pay equi ty analyses have investigated the ef fects o f racial a n d ethnic job segmentation In conjunction w i t h gender segmentation. Minnesota has focused i t s compara- b le wor th e f fo r ts solely o n gender dif ferences in equivalent work. When Minnesota began i t s pay equ i ty process, the racial and ethnic aspects o f comparable w o r t h analysis were j u s t beginn ing t o b e discussed widely. Minnesota was n o t a good place t o apply such a n analysis. Approximately 3.8 percent o f the state-level pub l i c work force is comprised o f racial and ethnic minorit ies, a percentage s l igh t ly above the populat ion average for the state as a whole (Minnesota Department o f Employee Relations, 1985). For t h i s reason, b o t h state government a n d localit ies were requ i red only to analyze gender dif ferences in wage rates fo r equivalently valued jobs.

INITIATING COMPARABLE WORTH IN MINNESOTA

Political Culture

The pol i t ical cu l tu re and inst i tu t ions o f Minnesota have proven especial- iy suitable fo r ac t i v i t y on the issue o f comparable worth. Minnesota's pol i t ical cu l tu re combines moralism and a d r i v e f o r technocratic excellence t o produce an in tervent ion is t and innovat ive publ ic sector. V i r tua l l y every s tudy shows Minnesota a leader in creat ing or qu ick ly adopting new publ ic policies, especially in the social pol icy area (Walker, 1969; Gray, 1973; Eyestone, 1977).

Polit ical inst i tut ions-- legislatures, executives, part ies, a n d in terest groups--both ref lect and create th is act iv is t pol i t ical cu l ture. The forces favor ing comparable wor th, In par t i cu la r organized labor and feminist act ivi t ies, have h is tor ica l ly been well organized and sophisticated actors. Both are closely connected t o Democratic p a r t y polit ics. Tradit ional ly, the two major pol i t ical par t ies define themselves as d is t inc t l y more l ibera l than the national bodies w i t h which they are aff l i iated. The Democratic-Farmer- Labor Par ty (DFL) was formed in 1944 as a merger of the then-dominant Farmer-Labor Par ty and the s t rugg l ing Democratic p a r t y (Gieske, 1984). U n t i l q u i t e recently, the Independent Republican Par ty ( I R ] , a name adopted in 1975, has t rad i t ional ly por t rayed i t se l f as more sympathetic w i th the reform climate o f Minnesota pol i t ics than w i t h the c u r r e n t national Republican Party. A measure o f the progress ive na ture o f the polit ical par t ies i s tha t b o t h have self-defined feminist (not women's) groups dat ing from the mid-1 970s (Shrewsbury , 1984).

Not surpr is ing ly , th is climate has fostered a professionalized and highly unionized pub l ic work force. In 1981, the year before pay equ i ty achieved the legislat ive agenda, the state o f Minnesota employed o v e r 31,000 people; more than 29,000 ( o r rough ly 93.5%) were covered by union contracts. Employees were represented by 11 d i f fe ren t unions, in 16 bargain ing uni ts , but the most prominent union, then a n d now, was the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFSCME. Excluding un ivers i ty employees, AFSCME represented 61.9 percent o f state employees. Importantly, 49.9 percent of AFSCME's members were women. AFSCME represented 75.0 percent o f the women covered by union contracts in state employment in 1981 (Counci l on the Economic Status o f Women, 1982).

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In the same year , women in state employment averaged $4,929 less p e r year than men employed by the state. (The average woman's wage was $13,874 and the average man's wage was $18,803) (Counci l o n the Economic Status o f Women, 1982, p. 47). Many factors accounted fo r the d i f f e r - ence, inc lud ing the fact tha t less than one percent o f women work ing for the state were employed in managerial positions. Advocates o f comparable wor th also suggested tha t jobs t rad i t ional ly and heavi ly occupied by women were undervalued. A n analysis o f job evaluations done by Hay Associates demonstrated t h a t t h i s was t r u e and formed the basis of legislat ive action.

HISTORY AND POLITICS

When the Minnesota Legislature in 1982 declared: "It i s the pol icy o f th is state t o attempt t o 'establ ish equitable compensation relat ionships between female-dominated , male-dominated , and balanced classes o f employees in the executive branch," the issue o f comparable w o r t h had been recognized by some Minnesota leaders f o r a t least e igh t years. Indeed, the evolut ion o f comparable w o r t h in Minnesota paral lels i t s development as a national issue.

The immediate h is to ry o f pay equ i ty in Minnesota began in November 1974, when AFSCME Counci l 6, in a move paral lel ing i t s s is ter a f f i l ia te in Washington State, requested tha t the state in i t ia te a s tudy t o assess pay practices and promotional policies which discriminated against women. A t the hear t o f i t s request was an assert ion tha t male-dominated job classes paid s ign i f icant ly more than female-dominated classes. Executive Di rector o f AFSCME Counci l 6, Paul Goldberg, noted that, "Salary ra tes f o r exper i - enced and responsible clerical posit ions t h a t o f ten requ i re post-high school business education, f o r example, pay $100 t o $150 less than the pay f o r an inexperienced jan i tor whose dut ies may b e extremely l imited" (Minneapolis S t o r , October 15, 1974). The fol lowing year they negotiated an agreement for such a s tudy but, un l i ke Washington State, the s tudy was no t funded.

The context fo r successful act ion o n Comparable wor th lay in the growing poli t ical inf luence o f ind iv idual feminists w i th in the state government and the i r successful all iances w i t h b o t h unions and women's groups. The legislature established the Counci l o n the Economic Status o f Women (CESW) in 1976 w i th a budget o f $95,000 and a requirement t o r e p o r t by the end o f 1977 regard ing t h e *'laws a n d practices const i tu t ing b a r r i e r s to the full par t ic ipat ion of women in the economy'l (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, February 11, 1976). The counci l consisted o f 10 legislators and e ight pub l i c members appointed by the Governor. From the outset, advocates such as Representative Stanley Enebo a n d Secretary o f State Joan Growe emphasized the growing gap between men's a n d women's pay a t the national level and the need f o r information about the situation in the state. The Council was similar t o o ther Counci ls and Commissions o n Women which had the i r roots in the activism in i t ia ted by John Kennedy's Presidential Commission on the Rights and Responsibil i t ies o f Women (Johansen, 1984; Freeman, 1975). Without t h i s permanent inst i tu t ional base, i t would have been v e r y d i f f i c u l t fo r advocates t o work on women's wage Issues f o r the length o f time necessary to develop a pay equity approach.

Chaired by State Representative Linda Bergl in, the Council h i r e d Nina Rothchild, a suburban school board member a n d pol i t ical act iv is t , t o serve as i t s senior staff . The pol i t ical exper t ise a n d energy o f these two women created a powerfu l mix. The Counci l began hearings Immediately a n d produced a barrage o f repor ts detai l ing t h e problems o f women in the Minnesota labor force and specif lcal ly in state employment. The i r ear ly repor ts in 1977 prov ided a stat ist ical p ro f i le o f Minnesota women.

EvandNelson: I n i t i a t i n g a Comparable Worth Wage Policy i n Minnesota 855

Representative Berg l in stated that, "In compiling the chartbook we were s tunned by the inequit ies which s t i l l ex is t in Minnesota f o r women" [Min- neopolis Tribune, A p r i l 17, 1977). They also documented state discrimination, finding tha t women were paid less than men in state employment and tended to c luster in a small number o f job classes (Minneapolis Star , March 23, 1977).

Discrimination and gender segregation o f the labor force became con- s tant re f ra ins in the stream o f repor ts issuing from the Council in subse- quent years. Def in ing "economic statusu1 broadly , the Council examined and made legislat ive recornmendations o n issues such as sex discrimination in insurance, inheritance taxes, and housing; minimum wage and tip cred- its; tax credi ts fo r ch i ld care; age discrimination; and family planning. In p a r t by avoid ing d iv is ive issues such as abor t ion (which the Council declined to define as an economic issue) and by lobbying only for i t s own b i l l s a n d n o t ogoinst b i l l s o f which it disapproved, the Counci l compiled a remarkably successful record in i t s f i r s t two and a h a l f years, winning passage o f 21 o f 32 recommended b i l ls . Legislators who agreed to sponsor Council legislation received copies o f suggested word ing fo r the bill, background information packets, a n d suggestions fo r persons who could be called upon t o tes t i f y (Minneapolis Tribune, February 5 , 1979) .

A t the same time, o ther g roups w i th in the state continued t o press for action as well. T w i n Cit ies NOW had presented stat ist ics in 1976 which documented the deter iorat ing posit ion o f women in the Minnesota labor market. T h e i r assert ion tha t women experienced greater discrimination than minor i ty men generated intense debate and cr i t ic ism from other women's groups (Minneapolis Tribune, November 8 , 1976). Act iv is ts wi th in the union movement continued t o press f o r comparable worth, drawing increasingly on stat ist ics p rov ided by the Council. In addit ion, Hennepin County (greater Minneapolis) Welfare Department e l ig ib i l i t y technicians, predominantly women, conducted the i r own s tudy to demonstrate tha t they were underpaid (Minneopolis Tribune, August 26, 1980).

Through the late 1970s the CESW clearly searched f o r pol icy responses t o the wage gap between women a n d men and t o g rowing female pover ty , gradual ly documenting the insuf f ic iency o f t rad i t ional measures aimed a t equal oppor tun i ty . A Minneopolis Tribune edi tor ia l in June 1979 noted the lack of improvement fo r women state employees in the two years since the f i r s t Counci l investigations: "The [Counci l 's ] r e p o r t underscores the need for state agencies t o renew t h e i r long-standing commitment t o job equality--and t o look fo r new ways t o achieve tha t goalu1 (Minneopolis Tribune, June 11, 1979). A t the same time, the condit ions fo r a comparable wor th s tudy improved. In 1979 the Legislature funded a state job evaluation s tudy conducted by Hay Associates, thereby generat ing the necessary data base fo r comparable worth. While the impetus was apparent ly separate from pay equ i ty concerns, and Indeed the in i t ia l Hay Associates repor t indicated tha t there was no s ign i f icant d ispar i ty in state pay rates along gender lines, some o f the legislat ive members o f the CESW were no doubt aware o f the potential uses o f th is data base. A t the same time, the issue o f comparable w o r t h was emerging o n the national level as a key pol icy innovation w i t h the s t rong suppor t of the Equal Employment Oppor tun i ty Commission under Eleanor Holmes Nor ton and the creation In 1978 o f the National Committee o n Pay Equi ty .

The changed pol i t ical climate o f the 1980s. however, made the p u r s u i t o f equ i ty t h r o u g h governmental policies more controversial while a t the same time, the concept o f comparable w o r t h had clearly f i l te red down to the local level, spark ing labor d isputes In Minnesota as elsewhere. Secre- taries in Anoka-Hennepin Independent School D is t r i c t 11, members o f the

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School Service Employees Union, struck over the wage gap between secretaries and custodians in June 1981 (Mir~neapolis Tribune, July 1. 1981).

Despite conservative opposition to the Council on the Economic Status of Women, the legislature in 1981 granted it permanent status w i t h an amendment that prohibited i t from advocating abortion in any way. Newly-elected Independent Republican Governor, A1 Quie, appointed several conserva- t i ve members to the Council, including some who had worked to abolish it. Objections to the Council, however, revolved primari ly around Council attention to what opponents deemed to be ttsociai" rather than "economic" issues, such as battered women's shelters, chi ld care, and programs for displaced homemakers (Minneapolis Tribune, November 9, 1981). Even in the eyes o f conservatives, pay equity fel l into the legitimate purview of the Council.

In the fall of 1981 the Council appointed a Pay Equity Task Force to reanalyze the Hay Associates data b y comparing male- and female-dominated job classes. The composition o f the Task Force built on the Councills own successful experience. It was composed primari ly o f legislators from both parties sympathetic to women and assigned to key committees. It also included representatives o f key constituencies, most notably AFSCME. And the Council chose the rhetoric o f "pay equity" over that o f ''cornpara- ble worth1' to emphasize the issue o f fairness.

The report, released in January 1982, documented pay disparities between male- and female-dominated job classes which received equivalent points under the Hay system. Council Executive Director Nina Rothchild, noting that l'using the Hay system, the state is clearly saying that women's jobs aren't worth as much as men's jobs," spelled out the Council's recommendation for legislation establishing a comparable worth standard as a primary consideration for sett ing the salaries o f female state employees (Minneapolis Tribune, January 22, 1982).

The bill was shepherded through the legislature by Senator Linda Bergl in (DFL) and Representative Wayne Simoneau (DFL) w i t h a minimum o f fanfare. The bill established the principle o f pay equity as the primary basis of remuneration in state employment, spelled out a process b y which it could be achieved, but did not car ry an appropriation. In hearings, scattergrams ( l ike Figure 1 ) graphically depicted the Task Force's f indings while lobbyists quiet ly assured legislators that funding for the bill could watt another year.

Both press and opposition remained silent. In March the Minneapolis Tribune barely noted passage o f the bill. Bur ied in a longer art icle in the sixth page of the second section were a series o f paragraphs under "Other bi l ls signed b y the governor will...." The second o f f ive read: "Establish a state policy o f comparable worth in state employment aimed a t ensuring that so-called 'women's jobs' car ry salaries equal to the comparable jobs usually reserved for men" (Minneupolis Star and Tribune, March 24, 1982) . AFSCME political director Rick Scott, one o f the key lobbyists on the issue, indicated later the conviction that establishing the policy was the most cr i t ical step (1985) . A policy and process bill, without funding, was ai l that was politically feasible in 1982, an election year in which state revenues experienced a serious shortfall, forcing painful cuts in state- funded social services. In the same session, abortion again proved to be a b i t te r ly div is ive issue. The 1982 pay equity legislation allowed iegisla- tors to make a gesture toward the interests o f women voters without becoming embroiled in fiscal dif f icult ies o r touchy issues l ike abortion. The bill passed easily in both houses and Governor Quie signed the legislation without hesitation.

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Clearly economic just ice for women held a p r iv i leged place on the state's pol i t ical agenda by 1982. Local newspapers edltorlal lzed In favor o f pay equ i ty and o f fe red scathing assessments o f women's economic conditions. In Ju ly the Minnesota Women's Consortium, a b road coalit ion o f women's g roups across the state, in t roduced a IIWomenls Economic Action Plan" w i th the endorsement o f a l l but one major candidate f o r state-wide office. B r i d g i n g local and national concerns, Independent Republican U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger also cast himself as a champion o f women's r ights . Early in 1983 he announced the in t roduct ion o f national economic-equity legislation t o end discrimination in pensions, taxes, Insurance, chi ld- suppor t and alimony, dependent care services and government regulations. The bill, whose House sponsor was Geraldine Ferraro, did not include a pay equ i ty provision.

A t the same time the cu l tu ra l conf l ic t over women's place in society continued t o be played o u t in the Counci l on the Economic Status o f Wom- en. Republican c i t izen appointees joined w i t h the single Republican legis- lator t o oust Senator Berg l in and elect a new chai r (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, March 20. 1983) . The DFL-dominated legislature then voted to change the Counci l in to a legislat ive commission whose members would al l b e drawn from the legislature i tse l f . Yet t h i s conf l ic t did n o t det ract from the implementation o f pay equ i ty which proceeded apace.

Newly-elected DFL Governor Rudy Perpich inc luded in the budget sub- mi t ted to the 1983 legislature $22 mil l ion specif ical ly fo r pay equi ty . The easy and v i r tua l l y unremarked appropr ia t ion o f funds f o r comparable wor th was a funct ion o f three facts. F i rs t , the state economy began t o emerge from recession and budgetary const ra in ts were n o longer as severe as they had been. Second, the in i t ia l bill spelled o u t a clear process which had f i rm suppor t from the pr inc ipa l labor unions representing state employees. In effect, the state appropr ia ted salary increases fo r state employees in two par ts . The f i r s t represented t rad i t ional cost-of- l iv ing and merit increases. The second prov ided a p o t o f money fo r the purpose o f achiev- ing pay equi ty . Whether the to ta l available fo r general cost-of-l iving and mer i t raises was lower due to the existence o f the pay equ i ty appropr ia t ion i s debated. Final ly, Governor Perpich had appointed Nina Rothchi ld to serve as State Commissioner o f Employee Relations, the off icial responsible fo r administering such appropr ia t ions and implementing pay equi ty .

When the State Department o f Employee Relations began i t s negotiations w i t h AFSCME, Council 6 in Ju ly 1983, b o t h sides were f i rm ly committed to the idea o f pay equi ty . They bargained in the t rad i t ional manner over the basic appropr ia t ion a n d the day af ter they concluded tha t agreement they reentered negotiations on the allocation o f pay equ i ty funds. The appro- p r ia t ion f o r 1983-85 represented j u s t over ha l f the money needed t o achieve pay equ l ty as def ined in t h e task force repor t . The Department o f Employee Relations, u n d e r Nina Rothchi ld, ident i f ied female-dominated classes which fe l l s ign i f icant ly below the pay l ine established by male- dominated classes a n d bargained w i t h t h e un ion over specif ic allocations which would b e made (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, July 2 6 , 1983) .

Insp i red by progress a t the state level and by r is ing awareness o f pay discrepancies, employees in several local jur isd ic t ions increased the i r pressure fo r pay equi ty . In the summer o f 1983 Minneapolis Working Women released a s tudy o f c i t y employees which showed tha t the majori ty o f male employees earned more than $20,000 p e r year while most female employees earned considerably less. The c i t y counci ls o f b o t h Minneapolis and St. Paul made in i t ia l gestures toward lnvest igat lng pay equlty. Three women employees o f Hennepin County under took a pay equ i ty s tudy on the i r own time us ing the state's Hay system a n d Information from county

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fi les to demonstrate tha t women employees earned less than men in comparable county jobs. AFSCME used the s tudy t o demand tha t the county establ ish a job evaluation system and a pol icy commitment t o comparable wor th (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, June 8, 1983). AFSCME also initi- ated a s tudy in St. Paul and joined Minnesota Working Women in placing pressure o n the Minneapolis C i t y Council.

The pressure from the grassroots f u r t h e r increased w i t h announcement of Judge Tanner ls federal d i s t r i c t c o u r t decision in the Washington State v. AFSCME case, which recognized comparable wor th as a va l id complaint under T i t le VII (452 US. 161, 1981). Rising expectations and slow responses a t the local level led representatives o f clerical employees in September 1983 t o ask the Commission on the Economic Status o f Women t o propose legislation requ i r ing local governments t o implement pay equ i ty as well. They cr i t ic ized c i t y a n d county governments, the Un ivers i ty o f Minnesota, and local school boards f o r fa i l ing t o follow the state's lead. Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Andrew indicated tha t h e would b e the only one on h i s county board wi l l ing t o adopt a pay equ i ty pol icy. Others would probably oppose such a measure on the grounds o f cost. Minnesota Working Women d i rector Wendy Robinson test i f ied tha t there I lprobably are g rounds fo r a lawsuitBB in Minneapolis (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, September 23, 1983). B y October the Minnesota School Employ- ees Association, represent ing clerical workers in Anoka-Hennepin Indepen- dent School D is t r i c t 11 had f i led a complaint w i t h the EEOC because the school board refused to accept the concept o f comparable worth. A n d clerical workers in suburban St. Louis Park schools were deadlocked in negotiations w i th t h e i r school board over the same issue. Unions in sever- a l o ther d is t r i c ts indicated t h e i r in tent ion t o in t roduce comparable w o r t h in to the bargain ing fo r the i r nex t cont ract (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, February 22, 1984). B y contrast, the c i t y o f Princeton, Minnesota (popu- lation 3,2591, led by Mayor Fai th Zwemke, conducted i t s own pay equ i ty s tudy in 1983 a n d implemented pay equ i ty fo r th ree o f the 33 c i t y employees in 1984 a t a cost of $10,000 (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, 1984).

B y February o f 1984 Senator L inda Berg l in had begun d r a f t i n g legislation to requ i re local governments t o adhere t o a comparable wor th stan- d a r d (Minneapolis Stor and Tribune, February 22, 1984). Legislators were hesitant a t f i r s t , aware o f the unease o f local governments and perhaps o f gather ing national opposition. T h e Reagan administrat ion, f o r example, announced in January i t s in tent ion t o challenge the Washington State decision and Linda Chavez, s ta f f d i rec to r o f the U.S. Commission o n C iv i l Rights, suggested tha t the commission should investigate the premises o f comparable wor th: "The pr inc ip le tha t under l ines 'comparable wor th ' i s a fundamentally radical one tha t would a l ter o u r ex is t ing marketplace economy" (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, January 6 , 1984).

Yet the issue remained re la t ive ly uncomplicated in Minnesota, par t icu lar - ly in light o f the apparent ease w i t h which it had been implemented a t the state level. In March the Minnesota Senate voted " to encourage counties, municipalit ies and school d is t r i c ts t o pay men a n d women equally,I8 but balked a t r e q u i r i n g them t o do so. W i t h adro i t lobby ing by AFSCME poli t ical act ion d i rector Rick Scott, Berg l in 's bill was heard and passed the following month, again w i t h l i t t le o r n o publ ic i ty . The Minnesota Asso- ciation o f Counties test i f ied against the bill, but other associations remained neutra l o n the issue a n d the vote was overwhelmingly favorable. As in the case o f the 1982 bill, 1984 was an election year and one in which the #'gender gap" had become a subject o f much dlscussion. A n d t h i s was a bill which in i t ia l ly a t least requ i red no commitment o f funds from state coffers.

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The local jur isd ic t ion bil l followed the pa t te rn set by the state in pre- scr ib ing b o t h a pol icy and a process. It established pay equi ty as a standard and requ i red local governments t o conduct job evaluation studies, to examine those studies fo r discrepancies in the pay o f similarly evaluated male- and female-dominated job classes, t o estimate the cost o f remedying the discrepancies, and to propose a p lan f o r implementation. Such repor ts were due by October 1985 in the Department o f Employee Relations, which would then r e p o r t recommended f u r t h e r steps t o the Legislature in 1986. Clearly the Washington case prov ided impetus fo r the bill and an env i ron- ment fo r i t s implementation. Responding t o concerns tha t job evaluation data could g ive r i se t o suits, the bill p rov ided protect ion from su i t in state cour ts until August 1987, in order t o g ive local governments time to deal w i t h the fiscal implications. The local pay equ i ty legislation could not, o f course, p ro tec t a local i ty during the grace per iod from being sued in federal c o u r t u n d e r T i t l e VI I o f the C i v i l R igh ts Act. A n d soon after passage local governments began t o voice fears tha t implementation "may inv i te lawsuits f rom employees who do no t g e t raises" (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, July 31, 1984) .

The ex ten t o f innovation requ i red by the bill generated substantial national attention. Governor Perpich t rumpeted Minnesotals success a t the National Governors' Association and succeeded in winning broad endorsement o f pay equi ty . Nina Rothchi ld received a d is t inguished service award a t the same meeting, but Perpich apparent ly lost h is posit ion on the exec- u t i v e board o f the association because o f h i s v igorous lobbying fo r pay equ i ty (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, August 1 , 1984) .

The law also forced new k i n d s of cooperation between state and local governments and among similar types o f jur isd ic t ions, none o f which were wi thout tension. Department of Employee Relations personnel u n d e r Nina Rothchi ld t ravel led around the state in the summer, fall, and winter o f 1984-85 explaining the issue. Bonnie Watkins and David Lutes, DOER pay equ i ty specialists, produced technical booklets on the implementation process for counties, school boards, small and medium cities, p rov id ing step- by-s tep advice. Lutes also produced software fo r microcomputers t o assist in the process. A t the same time, local jur isd ic t ions resisted state intru- sion and asserted tha t the process o f job evaluation imposed unique problems fo r each t y p e o f jur isdict ion. Most had no job evaluation system a t a l l a n d they t u r n e d fo r advice pr imar i l y t o s is ter jur isd ic t ions th rough such organizations as the Association o f Minnesota Counties, the League o f Minnesota Cities, the Minnesota Association o f Metropol i tan Areas (mid-size cit ies), and the Minnesota School Board Association.

The School Board Association and the Counties Association each in ter - viewed and h i r e d outside consultants ( A r t h u r Young & Co.) t o conduct p i lo t studies and t r a i n member organizations who chose to use the i r services. Immediately employee groups expressed discontent o n two issues. F i rs t , a number o f unions fe l t tha t Young's Decision Band method did not adequately value work ing conditions. Second, problems over the choice o f job evaluation methodology were exacerbated by the fact tha t the unions could on ly "meet and confer1# over them. A t the end of the discussion, management retained the sole right t o choose the job evaluation system.

Suburban middle-sized c i t ies joined together t o h i r e Contro l Data Corpo- ra t ion t o develop a job evaluation system sui ted t o t h e i r need. B u t con- f l ic t in places l i k e Hennepin County, where the local board and personnel s ta f f remained skeptical o f the concept, continued. Board members c r i t - icized comparable w o r t h fo r "bureaucratic wage-settlng" comparing "tree- tr immers w i th secretaries" a n d a " s h i f t away from the market-place, in to a subjectively determined set o f debatable standards" (Minneapolis Star and

860

Tribune, August 24, 1984). Public debate on comparable worth in the second hal f o f 1984 began to include oppositional rhetoric similar to that generated a t the national level by the Reagan administration.

The cities o f Minneapolis and St. Paul ran into political conflicts over the issue o f job evaluation, though few leaders publ icly opposed pay equity. In Minneapolis, the pay equi ty committee spl i t over whether to conduct a pay equity analysis of exist ing job classifications o r to hire a consultant to restudy the entire classification system. Cit ing the danger o f lawsuits, proponents o f the full outside study prevailed (Minneapolis Star and Tribune; August 16, 1984). St. Paul had h i red an outside consultant to conduct a pay equity study. Several employee groups, part icularly police and f iref ighters, reacted angr i ly to the study results, leading Mayor George Latimer to init iate a second study which superceded the f i rst .

In the f i r s t few months o f 1985 there were a few attempts i r i the courts and in the legislature to alter implementation o f pay equity a t the local level. In February the Minnesota School Employees Association and the International Union o f Operating Engineers f i led suit in Hennepin County Distr ict Court to prevent the use o f the Decision Band system. The suit was dismissed in March. A t the same time, police and f i ref ighters ap- proached the state legislature in an attempt to remove themselves from the job evaluation process. They claimed that such studies failed to evaluate their jobs fa i r ly and that, by comparing them internal ly to other job classes rather than external ly to other police o r f i ref ighters, the labor arbitrat ion process would be compromised.

State associations o f police and f i ref ighters succeeded in introducing legislation In both state houses to exempt them from job evaluations and pay equity studies. The bi l ls enjoyed a b r ie f success in committee until AFSCME, women's groups (notably the League o f Women Voters), and the League of Cities mobilized a significant lobbying e f fo r t to defeat them and obtained a publ ic veto threat from the governor. A final compromise gesture amended the law sl ightly. Under the new amendment, If police o r f i ref ighter wage negotiations went to binding arbitrat ion, the arbi t rators would allow employees to present their objections to the job evaluation system in the arbi t rat ion process (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, May 10, 1985). An attempt to extend the deadline for local government pay equity plans two years beyond October 1 , 1985, failed completely.

While opponents o f pay equity were increasingly vocal In 1985, bipart i - san support remained strong. Independent Republican Senator Dave Durenberger, the senior U.S. senator from Minnesota, included in his llEconomic Equity Act o f 1985l' a provision to init iate a comparable worth study at the national level. He said, "The state o f Minnesota studied it and came up w i t h a pay equity system for state employees that many consider a success story. I t ' s time for Congress to meet the pay equity problem head-on, and begin studying i t s implications and proposed solutions" (Minneapolis Star ond Tribune, May 15, 1985). A t the same time, local level opponents shif ted their ground from out r igh t opposition to debate over the technical definit ion o f pay equity. In March 1985, after h i r ing a consultant and proceeding w i t h a job evaluation study, Hennepin County Labor Relations Director Rolland Toenges indicated that the county would continue to adhere to market wages and res t r i c t salaries to w i t h i n 10 percent o f market rates. In contrast to the state practice o f raising female salaries to the male salary line, he proposed that attentiveness to market rates would raise salaries within a range he called an "equity corr idor" (Minneapolis Tribune, March 14, 1985).

By the summer o f 1985 most local jur isdict ions in Minnesota were well into the process o f conducting pay equity studies. The state appropriated

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and negotiated the allocation o f a second two-year appropriation o f $22.2 million for pay equity for state employees. When the U.S. Circui t Court o f Appeals overturned the Washington State v. AFSCME case in September 1984, pay equity in Minnesota appeared to be a foregone conclusion at both state and local levels. School boards for the most pa r t were prepared to meet the October 1 deadline. Cities and counties indicated that many would be late but that studies would be completed In time for the next legislative session. The Minneapolis Star and Tribune reported that opponents l ike Representative T e r r y Dempsey, IR-New Ulm, had no expectation o f changing the law any more: IIWhile (Dempsey would] l ike to repeal the law, the chances o f doing that are zero1' (Minneapolis Star and Tribune, September 6 , 1985).

The local pay equity law required that the Department o f Employee Relations report to the Legislature by January 31, 1986, the results of thc pay equity analyses done by localities and forwarded to It. As o f January 15, 1986, the Department had received 1,090 o f 1,583 pay equity reports from local governments. I t s summary stated that Il80 percent o f school distr icts, 63 percent o f cities and townships, 37 percent o f counties, and 74 percent o f al l other jur isdict ions ... [had reported]. The reports covered[ed] 75,994 employees statewide, accounting for about 42 percent o f the estimated total number o f employees in local governments" (Minnesota Department of Employee Relations, 1986). For report ing jurisdictions, local governments estimated that the cost o f pay equity raises would average 2.6 percent of payrol l and would take 2.3 years to implement.

The state has no st ick w i th which to u rge the other almost 500 jur is- dictions to report (although another 346 jur isdict ions had informed DOER o f when their studies would be completed). The full implementation of pay equity a t the state and local level wi l l require, a t least, the constant monitoring o f women's groups in local jur isdict ions no t ye t report ing, success in keeping state pay equity funds in the FY 1907 legislative budget, and not extending the jurisdict ions' protection against suit in state court beyond the original August 1987 deadline. A l l o f these concerns w i l l play themselves out over the coming months and years.

MINNESOTA AND THE NATION

One o f the most useful ways o f understanding Minnesota's Init ial ef for t to develop a public-sector comparable worth wage policy Is to see it as both a cause and a consequence of, national trends. The success o f initi- at ing state-level policy depended on moving quickly, reducing conflict b y keeping init iat ives relat ively quiet, and using one o f the authors o f a policy as i t s chief implementor. Such a scenario defines a policy controlled by a small group o f professional leaders ( interest groups, legislators, and bureaucrats) interacting in their inst i tut ional roles. State level pay equity policy exemplifies a small i ron-tr iangle o f almost classical description.

Between 1982 and 1986 perhaps a dozen serious Initiatives on comparable worth were undertaken in state legislatures, including Minnesota's state and local pay equity laws. Their success drew the attention o f opponents: the newly-fashioned U.S. Civ i l Rights Commission, the National Association o f Manufacturers, and the disbanded anti-ERA forces o f Phyllis Schlafly. Bu t as was said before, it is not merely the change in polltlcal climate i tsel f that affects the fu tu re prospects for consideration and adoption. Comparable worth i s rapidly being transformed from an issue where small groups of experts attempt to init iate policy to, in the Minnesota case, one where thousands of people must master the technical and political issues at hand to implement it. That movement from an elite to a more mass-based

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level in t roduces many places where resistance ( o r occasionally, s u r p r i s i n g suppor t ) can b e found (Nelson, 1985b). T h e State Department o f Employ- ee Relations and the Minnesota professional associations o f small a n d medium-sized cit ies, counties and school boards worked h a r d t o p resen t t he technical information necessary to t r a i n perhaps 16,000 implementors (es- t imating 10 implementors p e r jur isd ic t ion) . Not a l l o f t he associations were suppor t ive o f pay equ i t y as a pub l i c wage pol icy. The n e x t stage in analyzing the implemeritation o f pay equ i t y i s t o focus i n te rna l l y on t h e actions o f locai jur isd ic t ions. With most o f t he self-analyses completed by local governments, t ha t phase o f research i s now possible.

REFERENCES

Council on the Economic Status o f Women. (1982). Pay equity and public employment. St. Paul, Minnesota.

Ecksteiri, H . (1975). Case study a n d theo ry in pol i t ica l science. In F.I. Greenstein & N.W. Polsby (Eds.), Handbook of political science (pp. 79-1 38). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing.

Eyestorie, R. (1 977). Confusion, d i f fus ion, and innovation. American Political Science Review, 7 1 , 441-447.

Freeman, J. (1975). The politics of women’s liberation. New York : McKay.

George, A.L. (1979). Case studies a n d theo ry development: T h e method o f s t ruc tu red , focused comparison. In P.C. Lauren (Ed.) , Diplomacy: New approaches in history, theory, and policy (pp. 43-68). New York : Free Press.

Cleske, M.L. (1984). Minnesota in midpassage: A c e n t u r y o f t rans i t i on in pol i t ical cu l ture. In M. L. Cieske (Ed. ), Perspectives on Minnesota government and politics (pp. 1-34). Minneapolis, MN: Burgess Publish- ing.

Gray, V. (1973). Innovation in the states: A diffusion study (p. 67). Johansen, E. (1984). Comparable worth: The myth and the movement.

Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Mazmanian, D.A. & Sabatier, P. (1983). Implementation and public

policy. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman a n d Company. Nelson, B.J. (1985a). Comparable wor th : A b r i e f rev iew o f h i s to ry ,

pract ice and theory. Minnesota Low Review, 6 9 , 1199-1216. Nelson, B. J. (1985b, March). Popular misconceptions o f comparable

wor th policies and t h e i r po l i t ica l consequences. Paper presented a t t h e Western Polit ical Science Association meetings.

Nelson, B.J. (1984). Making an issue of child abuse: Political agenda setting for social problems. Chicago: Un ive rs i t y o f Chicago Press.

Ripley, R.B. & Frank l in , G. (1986). Policy implementotian and bureau- cracy. Chicago: Dorsey Press.

Scott, R. (1985). Comments a t t h e conference, New Direct ions in Compa- rable Worth: Minnesota a n d t h e Nation. Minneapolis: Un ive rs i t y of Minnesota.

Shrewsbury, C.M. (1984). Women in Minnsota pol i t ics : A pre l iminary sketch. In M. L. Gieske (Ed. ), Perspectives an Minnesota government and politics (pp. 44-52). Minneapolis, MN: Burgess Publishing.

Verba, S. (1967). Some dilemmas in comparative research. World Poli-

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Documents

INITIATING A COMPARABLE WORTH WAGE POLICY IN MINNESOTA: NOTES FROM THE FIELD