THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 7, 1996 TAG: 9607060020
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 29 lines
In response to Shawn Etter's letter (June 10): All I could think about were the senior citizens standing long hours for low wages while they greet people entering Wal-Mart stores.
The senior citizens who stand in the front of the stores are hard-working people. They work their whole lives for low pay and many never receive the pensions they were promised. These older folks settle for these wages with no pensions for fear of making waves.
Sometimes we need to stand up and fight for what's right. If the unions are willing to fight to keep the Joint Venture from paying substandard wages and benefits, then this will help all Hampton Roads workers. I thank God that the unions have the resources to take on this fight.
I would have loved to ask the six illegal aliens who were arrested working on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel project what they were being paid and if they will get a pension. I am sure the answer is ``low pay and no pension.'' Does Mr. Etter think foreign companies play by the same rules as American companies?
Maybe it's a good idea to support the boycott. If wages and benefits get any lower, then residents won't be able to afford the fee to cross the bridge-tunnel.
LEN HUGHES
Chesapeake, June 20, 1996 by CNB