Gore and Janitors

* Re “Gore’s Presence at Rally Boosts Janitors’ Spirits� (April 17).

Of course Vice President Al Gore supports the janitors’ strike--it’s the politically correct (although gutless) position to take. especially in an election year. I’m of the other ilk, however. I have no sympathy whatsoever for those making $8 an hour emptying waste baskets. Try earning $6.50 an hour in a machine shop deburring sharp aluminum castings eight hours a day for months on end, your hands scarred from cuts, your feet aching from the concrete floor and your shirt drenched in sweat. Or try swabbing hot tar on roofs that frequently reach 120 degrees. There are tens of thousands of people in Los Angeles who have hard, unglamorous jobs and many make no more than janitors. Get a reality check from those people.

If janitorial work isn’t what you really want to be doing for the money you receive, further your education and training so that you can become qualified for a higher-paying position.

STEPHEN WALLIS

Los Angeles

* I am in favor of the janitors obtaining higher wages. Not in favor of lawbreaking. The Times reported that on April 14 a small number of strikers or supporters, including several elected officials, congregated in the middle of Wilshire adjoining the 405 Freeway, stopping traffic. The inconvenience and cost to these motorists you can well imagine. For city officials to do this is a terrible example. If they don’t respect the law, who will? Police properly arrested them.

These officials should be brought to trial and if found guilty jailed for 10 or so days and fined the cost of keeping them in jail and trying them.

JOHN A. WOODWARD III

Los Angeles

* People who espouse the so-called living wage are in effect saying to young people: Don’t bother to learn to read, write and speak English correctly, don’t worry about learning about science, math and computers, don’t try to stay out of trouble with the law, because when you become adults we will make sure you get a job that pays a living wage, regardless of your behavior, how little knowledge you have or how few skills you have.

What a lesson to teach our children.

RICHARD SHOWSTACK

Newport Beach