Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal traveled through California with National Coordinator Katherine Spillar and polltaker Lou Harris, speaking to leaders in the African-American and Latino communities, women's rights groups, entertainment organizations, and business associations about the recent Feminist Majority Foundation sponsored poll on affirmative action. California is the site of several planned ballot initiatives to wipe out affirmative action, as well as bills in the state legislature to end affirmative action (which so far have all been defeated).
Other states that may face anti-affirmative action initiatives in the 1996 elections are Florida, Colorado, and Michigan.
"Women's groups around the country have forged unprecedented alliances with civil rights groups, and are galvanizing to defeat this attack on their jobs and careers," said Smeal.
In Congress, Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (RKS) and Rep. Charles Canady (R-FL) have indicated they will introduce legislation to eliminate federal affirmative action programs.
In addition, Rep. Gary Franks (R-CT), one of two African-American Republicans in the House, said he would try to amend an appropriations bill to end minority setasides for government contracts.
California Governor and presidential hopeful Pete Wilson, in an effort to appease right-wing Republicans, issued an executive order wiping out voluntary
California affirmative action programs, including: repealing previous executive orders encouraging the hiring and promotion of women and minorities; dismantling 150 state advisory committees which served as "watchdogs" to make sure affirmative action laws were followed; changing the hiring goals for 150,000 full-time state jobs; and requiring the California Department of Transportation to reduce from 20% to 10% the amount of contract money set aside for women and minority owned companies.
In response to Wilson's actions, women's groups in California, including Republican women's business groups, have decided not to endorse Wilson's annual Conference for Women this year. In addition, the National Urban League, a civil rights group, has voted to boycott California and has pulled their $10 million national conference out of Los Angeles.
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling which called into question the constitutionality of certain federal programs which target some contracts for minorityowned businesses, the Justice Department has issued tough new standards that fed-
eral affirmative action programs must meet. The mi.d-June Supreme Court ruling, Adarand v. Pena, dealt with a highway construction program that gave bonuses for hiring minority-owned contractors, and requires that federal affirmative action programs using racial or ethnic classifications must be held to a strict scrutiny level of judicial review.
"The Court now says that laws and programs that advance equal opportunities are no different than policies that discriminate," comments Smeal. "Since the Court refuses to see the difference, we must make our case in the political arena."
The government must now show that these federal affirmative action programs serve a compelling interest and that these programs are designed to overcome specific discriminatory practices at an agency, not general, historic discrimination. In addition, the court ruled that the social benefits stemming from a diversified work force cannot be used to justify the program's existence.
Only 1.4% of government contracts go to women-owned businesses, and less than 4% go to minority-owned businesses.