'Men At Work' signs to disappear in Atlanta

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'Men At Work' signs to disappear in Atlanta
Decision follows complaints by magazine editor

By ERIC STIRGUS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/09/08

In the battle of the sexes, women's magazine editor Cynthia Good said this was a skirmish she had to fight.

[Read comments below.]

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• Atlanta and Fulton County news

Across Atlanta they stood, orange signs with black letters that read "Men At Work" or "Men Working Ahead."

Sometimes, the signs stood next to women working alongside the men.

Good demanded Atlanta officials remove the signs and last week, Atlanta Public Works Commissioner Joe Basista agreed.

Score one for gender equality, Good said Wednesday.

"They get it," Good said about the city in a telephone interview.

Public Works officials are replacing 50 "Men Working" with signs that say "Workers Ahead." It will cost $22 to cover over some of the old signs and $144 to buy new signs, said Public Works spokeswoman Valerie Bell-Smith said.

Good, founding editor of Atlanta-based PINK Magazine, a publication that focuses on professional women, said she's not stopping with Atlanta.

"We're calling on the rest of the nation to follow suit and make a statement that we will not accept these subtle forms of discrimination," said Good, 48.

Good pressed the issue after Atlanta police came to her office last month on a complaint that she spray painted "wo" onto a "Men At Work" sign.

Did she do it? Good replied by complaining about the signs.

Good fired off letters complaining about the signs to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Gov. Sonny Perdue.

State transportation officials said they will ask contractors to remove signs specifying just men are working at a construction site.

Atlanta union leader Gina Pagnotta said some women employees of Atlanta Public Works complained about these signs years ago.

"It is a little bit bias to say 'Men Working,' " said Pagnotta, president of the Professional Association of City Employees. "Women are working, too."

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Comments

By Jerry

Jul 10, 2008 6:08 PM | Link to this

Should be South Americans working

By shooter

Jul 10, 2008 6:08 PM | Link to this

Geez..and I thought that Seattle, where they think Teddy Kennedy is an ultra-conservative, was the "PC" capital of the known universe! Being a former "sensitive '90's man", I'm willing to cut Ms. Good some slack, and believe that at her age, her behavior is really beyond her control and is due to one of those "female things"....like maybe a terminal case of penis envy.

By bp

Jul 10, 2008 6:07 PM | Link to this

PLEASE!!! What a stupid to put any effort into. This "person" just is wanting her name put in print for her own gradtification.. GET A LIFE BIMBO!!!

By john gunn

Jul 10, 2008 6:06 PM | Link to this

this came from texas a and m: Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, that holds for the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end. have we nothing better to do with our time and money? ms good, stop wasting our time.

By Rita

Jul 10, 2008 6:05 PM | Link to this

As a woman, I can say I think this is utterly ridiculous. Will you men out there please quit taking this crap from feminists who have nothing better to do than get worked up about a road sign?! Stand up for yourselves while you still can! No normal person thinks of this as discrimination. We all know women work on the roads as well. MAN UP, men of Atlanta!

By Pete

Jul 10, 2008 6:04 PM | Link to this

Somebody get this [wo]man a tainted martini. Pronto.

By Ed

Jul 10, 2008 6:03 PM | Link to this

I think the signs correction is completely wrong. Forget the gender references and consider the objective of the sign. Instead of "Workers Ahead", or "Workers", why actually describe what one is going to encounter as they drive down the road, Road Work Ahead. If you still want to include the workers, then how about, Entering Road Worker Zone - Drive Carefully

By Neil

Jul 10, 2008 6:02 PM | Link to this

At least they will make the signs more representative...
Wait, they aren't going to say: "Lazy people leaniing on shovels ahead"?

By PJ

Jul 10, 2008 6:02 PM | Link to this

Omigosh. This has to be even more idiotic than Dallas County (TX) commissioner John Wiley Price's objection to the scientific term 'black hole' and to 'devil's food cake' as both being racist. Is someone putting stupid pills in the water?

By M Zimmerman

Jul 10, 2008 6:01 PM | Link to this

I think this women is on the right track but the sign is wrong. It should read:

CAUTION WORKERS AHEAD THEY MIGHT BE MEN OR WOMEN, COULD BE GAY OR BLACK OR EVEN ILLEGAL ALIEN, THEY MIGHT NOT BE WORKING THEY COULD JUST BE STANDING THERE DOING NOTHING. THEY MIGHT NOT EVEN BE THERE SOMEONE MIGHT NOT HAVE REMOVED THIS DUMB *** SIGN BECAUSE THEY WERE TO WORRIED ABOUT HOW POLITICALLY CORRECT THE HOLE IN THE GROUND WOULD LOOK AFTER REMOVING IT.

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