Patricia Curia San Jose Comparable Worth Strike Collection
Finding aid prepared by Frances Wratten Kaplan.
Labor Archives and Research Center
2010, revised 2016
San Francisco State University
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco CA 94132-1722
larc@sfsu.edu
Title: Patricia Curia San Jose Comparable Worth Strike collection
Date (inclusive): 1972-2005
Creator:
Curia, Patricia
Extent:
1.00 cubic feet
(2 boxes)
Call number: larc.ms.0117
Accession numbers: 1993/069, 2010/032
Repository:
Labor Archives and Research Center
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
San Francisco State University
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132-1722
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu
Abstract: Consists of news clippings, correspondence, articles, ephemera and other materials related to the 1981 San Jose city workers
strike in support of equal pay for comparable worth.
Location: Collection is available onsite.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English.
Availability
Collection is open for research.
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives and Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Labor Archives and Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Patricia Curia San Jose Comparable Worth Strike Collection, larc.ms.0117, Labor Archives and Research
Center, San Francisco State University.
Separated Materials
Video Cassette: Pat Curia: "Equal Pay for Equal Worth," 1981 October 10, and TV Recording: Good Morning America, "San Jose
City Employees' Strike," 1981 July 7, 7:00 AM, relocated to LARC Audio/Visual Collection.
Acquisition
Materials were transferred from Wayne State at the request of the donor, Patricia Curia. Accession numbers 1993/069, 2010/032.
Processing Information
Processed by Labor Archives and Research Center staff; additions processed by Frances Wratten Kaplan in 2016.
Arrangement
Arranged in four series: Series 1. Correspondence, 1979-1985; Series 2: Comparable Worth/Pay Equity Research Materials, 1972-1985;
Series 3: Publications, Clippings and Ephemera, 1979-1985; Series 4: Oral History, 2005
Biographical Information
Patricia Curia joined the staff at the San Jose Public Library in December 1971. She was a member of both the American Federation
of State, County, and Municipal Employees Union (AFSCME) Local 101, and Concerned Librarian Activist Workers (CLAW). She held
the position of Senior Librarian and Head of Reference Services in 1981 when City of San Jose employees, represented by AFSCME
Local 101, went on strike for equal pay for jobs of comparable worth. Curia was the library representative on the Hay Study
team that analyzed job duties and responsibilities of city employees prior to the strike.
Historical Note Regarding the San Jose Comparable Worth Strike
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was a federal anti-discrimination law that made it illegal to pay men and women different salaries
for similar work performed in the same place. The term "comparable worth" is used to describe the concept that women and men
should receive equal pay for jobs calling for comparable skill and responsibility. In 1979, as part of its contract with the
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 101, the City of San Jose hired the firm of Hay
Associates to perform a comparable worth study of management and employees. The Hay Study found that while men and women in
the same jobs were paid equally, jobs dominated by women were paid 2% to 10% below the average for all city jobs, and male-dominated
jobs averaged 3% to 15% above the average.
In June 1981, AFSCME Local 101 tried to negotiate wage adjustments based on the findings of the Hay Study. When the City refused
to implement changes that would address the disparity between men and women's pay for comparable work, about 1,500 librarians,
mechanics, janitors and clerical workers of the City of San Jose went out on strike. The strike lasted ten days and ended
with a settlement that included equity adjustments for female-dominated jobs that had been deemed under-paid. It was the first
strike in history where a settlement included the issue of comparable pay.
Scope and Contents
Consists of news clippings, correspondence, articles, ephemera and other materials related to the 1981 San Jose city workers
strike in support of equal pay for comparable worth. The collection includes job evaluation notes on library positions using
the Hay Guide Chart-Profile Method of Job Evaluation, as well as a transcript of an oral history interview with Pat Curia.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Strikes and lockouts -- Libraries.
Labor unions -- Organizing -- California.
Wages -- Women.
Strikes and lockouts.
Pay equity.
Strikes and lockouts -- Civil service.
San Jose Public Library.
AFSCME. Local 101 (San Jose, Calif.)
Series 1:
Correspondence
1979-1985
Extent: 2 folders (box 1, folders 1-2)
Scope and Contents
Comprises correspondence between AFSCME Local 101 business agents and City of San Jose managers and administrators. Also includes
correspondence from and to Patricia Curia in her position as chairperson of the Concerned Library Activist Workers (CLAW),
and as relates to her research on salaries and pay equity issues for librarians.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
box 1, folder 1
Strike correspondence
1979-1983
box 1, folder 2
Patricia Curia correspondence
1980-1985
Series 2:
Comparable Worth/Pay Equity Research Materials
1972-1985
Extent: 7 folders (box 1, folders 3-8; Box 2, folder 1)
Scope and Contents
Includes scholarly articles, reports, and studies pertaining to the issues of comparable worth and pay equity. Also includes
notes, flyers, and reference material related to the Hay Study. Patricia Curia was the San Jose Public Library representative
on the Hay Study team in 1980.
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
box 1, folder 3
Hay Study and job evaluation
1972-1982
box 1, folder 4-7
Comparable Worth articles, studies and research materials
1972-1985
box 1, folder 8
Pay equity in libraries
1977-1982
box 2, folder 1
Comparable Worth Workshop resource packet
1979
Series 3:
Publications, Clippings and Ephemera
1979-1985
Extent: 9 folders (box 2, folders 2-10)
Scope and Contents
Newspaper clippings, newsletters, librarian periodicals, and union-produced bulletins related to the 1981 San Jose city worker's
strike and pay equity in general.
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
box 2, folder 2
Librarian periodicals
1978-1983
box 2, folder 3
AFSCME strike bulletins
1979-1981
box 2 , folder 4-6
Strike clippings
1980-1983
box 2, folder 7
Comparable worth and pay equity clippings
1980-1985
box 2, folder 8
Comparable Worth Project newsletter
1981-1982
box 2, folder 9
City of San Jose and AFSCME Local 101 Memorandum of Agreement
1981-1983
box 2, folder 10
Concerned Library Activist Workers (CLAW) newsletters, bulletins, and correspondence
1981-1984
Series 4:
Oral History
2005
Extent: 1 folder (box 2, folder 11)
Scope and Contents
Transcripts of a 2005 interview with Patricia Curia on the subject of the San Jose Library comparable worth labor strike.
Arrangement
Arranged as received.
box 2, folder 11
Pat Curia oral history transcript
2005
