LABOR INTENSIVE: Labor Day was always a...

LABOR INTENSIVE: Labor Day was always a big deal in the San Fernando Valley in its heyday as a manufacturing base. Thousands of local union members celebrated. But the foundry has fled. Hourly-wage type union jobs dwindled so far that the UAW now has three times as many retirees in the Valley as its 300 local members. . . . Big exception: Government employee union ranks have boomed (B2). Above, L.A. workers’ pay trails New York and San Francisco, but beats Tampa by a wad of money.

NEEDLES AND SKINS: Had Dracula shown up Saturday at Elysium Fields, he would have had to leave his cape home. And the rest of his outfit. The nudist camp in Topanga hosted its annual “nude blood drive,” encouraging donors to do good while baring all. Clothed donors were accepted too, if they didn’t mind looking conspicuous. . . . Volunteers drew 38 pints by nightfall.

GRODY DUDS, DUDE: Bare midriffs, “preppy Persian,” wallets on chains, beepers on chains, retro-punk, nouveau baby doll. Teen-age fashions are a world of shifting boundaries and angst-ridden choices. Be just like everybody else. . . . But not the wrong everybodies. “Mass individuality” as one researcher put it. The trick: knowing what outfits send which message (B1).

HONOR DELAYED: Today he’s a Woodland Hills veterinarian. But 51 years ago, as a Marine lieutenant in charge of “war dogs” in the battle for Guam, William W. Putney saved a threatened American headquarters by wiping out all the Japanese attackers. He was supposed to get a medal but didn’t . . . Until Saturday, when his Silver Star was presented at a ceremony in Honolulu commemorating the end of World War II (A24).

GREAT AND SMALL: Puppies, kittens and other animals were in danger when a fire broke out in a Tarzana veterinary hospital and pet store. Fire gutted the building, but firefighters rescued all the creatures as onlookers applauded (B1). . . . Several water-drenched birds had to be dried off in incubators.

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Labor Day Report

Comparison of average annual salaries in selected cities, 1991*

New York: $32,589

San Francisco: $30,305

Los Angeles: $29,981

Washington, D.C.: $27,455

Philadelphia: $25,364

Tampa: $19,580

* Latest figures available

Sources: The Valley Economic Development Center and SRI International