Feinstein in Comparable Worth Pay Controversy : S.F. Mayor Picketed for Opposing Plan as She Hosts a Benefit for Feminists

Even as she hosted a benefit Friday for the National Women’s Political Caucus, Mayor Dianne Feinstein, one of the most prominent women in the Democratic Party, was caught up in a controversy with Bay Area feminists over her opposition to a comparable worth pay plan for city employees.

More than 75 chanting pickets--both women and men--paraded Friday night outside City Hall while Feinstein presided over the benefit, which honored the many women she has named to head city departments.

“Obviously, there is a bit of irony involved here,” caucus Chairwoman Irene Natividad noted cautiously before the event.

Opposition Denied

Feinstein denied that she opposes comparable worth, saying she has been trying to develop a program the city can afford. “I support the issue of comparable worth,” she said before the protest.

She also discounted any damage to her position within the Democratic Party or to any statewide political ambitions she might have. “I’ve been picketed many times,” she shrugged. “That doesn’t bother me.”

However, after learning of plans for the demonstration, the mayor moved the reception from her posh Presido Terrace mansion to City Hall, reportedly to avoid inconveniencing her neighbors in the gated, private community where she lives.

Comparable worth is designed to ease discrimination by equalizing the wages for jobs often held by women, such as secretaries, and jobs held mostly by men, such as truck drivers. Female-dominated jobs usually pay considerably less.

‘Might Work a Change’

Natividad was unhappy with the controversy, but she said the protest “might work a change” in Feinstein’s position.

“As chief budgetary officer, she has the right to (set) her priorities,” Natividad said. “I don’t happen to agree with the budgetary priorities. I think pay equity is a priority. She may well arrive at that position.”

Protesters were careful to point out that they were targeting their protest at the mayor alone and did not intend to hurt the fund-raising campaign of the feminist political caucus, which also supports the comparable-worth concept.

“We’re not out after the NWPC,” said Sharon Johnson, a protest organizer. “We’re after the mayor.”

“She would like to be seen as a supporter of women’s issues,” said San Francisco lawyer Judith Kurtz, spokeswoman for the Coalition for Pay Equity, which arranged the picket line. “Unfortunately, she is no friend of women on this issue.”

“The mayor cannot have it both ways--calling herself a feminist and hosting this function while at the same time holding women and minorities hostage,” Johnson said.

‘San Francisco 59ers’

Some of Friday’s picketers, who ranged from lawyers to file clerks, wore red T-shirts proclaiming “San Francisco 59ers”--a reference to charges that women overall earn only 59% of the wages paid to men.

At issue is Feinstein’s decision to veto an ordinance that would have given some city workers about $28 million in daily, $5 pay bonuses until a permanent comparable-worth package could be worked out in 1987.

The Board of Supervisors overrode Feinstein’s veto--the only override in her seven years as mayor. She responded by placing the issue on the fall ballot, where it faces a difficult fight for voter approval.

“This is not comparable worth; it’s comparable girth,” the mayor said of the program. About $8 million already has been placed in a special reserve fund until it is clear how the bonuses should be dispensed.

Blamed for Deficit

Feinstein blames the current comparable-worth plan for a major share of the city’s projected $76-million deficit next year. Her critics disagree, blaming the deficit on the mayor’s decision to add 2,500 employees to the city payroll in the last three years.

Undaunted, the mayor said the current comparable-worth plan “would raise salaries higher than any other jurisdiction” and is “illegal under the City Charter, which says any fringe benefits must be voted on by the people.”

She said she is negotiating with city labor unions to find a plan acceptable to all sides. “You gotta do what you believe is right,” she said, “and what is best for the city.”