
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 17, 1995                   TAG: 9505170037
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MITCHELL L. MENDELSON
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TRY CULTIVATING A BETTER WORK FORCE

YOUR April 30 headline, ``Help wanted - $6-an-hour jobs are going begging and there's not much companies can do about it,'' sums up one of the most widespread and persistent fallacies cherished by low-wage employers: ``Woe is us'' or ``we can't find cheap help and there's nothing we can do about it.''

They're wrong. Low-wage employers bring upon themselves many of their labor problems, and then insist they haven't the means to solve them. Consider these options:

Raise wages. As obvious as that seems, a number of companies declare they'd sooner close their doors than attract labor with more money. Meanwhile, they keep offering the same $4.50-$6 per hour - a wage on which even frugal people cannot decently house, clothe and feed a family.

Hire permanent, full-time workers, and provide the basic fringe benefits that once were considered standard when America's work force led the world: health and disability insurance, job security, pensions, sick time and paid vacations. Instead, many low-wage employers fill their ranks with part-time, no-benefit jobs, or use temp-agency drones replacing permanent workers. Even worse is the trend toward ``independent contractors,''wherein companies don't actually employ anyone, but hire people as independent agents who are paid an hourly fee, with no benefits, no withholding taxes and no employer contributions to Social Security.

Stop forcing workers to own and maintain automobiles by locating work places in suburban or rural areas without mass transit. Too many employers look at cheap land, tax breaks and other incentives (taxpayer-funded bribes) offered by state and county governments to locate in areas accessible only by automobile, and to heck with employees who don't have a car. Many low-wage jobs go begging for the simple reason that people who would work those jobs can't afford to join the great American car culture. If the benefits of a far-flung location outweigh other considerations, sensible employers should consider company van service to take workers from bus stops or other collection points.

Develop cooperative programs, such as work-study or adopt-a-school, with local schools to ``incubate'' a new work force. Many companies ignore education needs or limit their support to athletics, but then cry crocodile tears when the products of education haven't the literacy skills to fill out a job application. Companies also skimp on decent training for unexperienced workers. Then they wonder why those workers can't do the job properly and quit in frustration.

These ideas are from a layman. Businesses truly interested in cultivating a low-wage labor force, instead of whining about the difficulties of finding enough people who are willing to do lousy jobs under substandard conditions for inadequate wages and fringes, should pursue other avenues.

Mitchell L. Mendelson, of Roanoke, is a former print journalist.

by CNB