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<h2 class="MsoTitle" align="center"><span style="font-size: 24.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The
World Of Work-1961 to 2004</font></span></h2>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The
Way We Were And The Way We Are</font></span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b>
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">43
years ago ALCA opened it�s doors for the first time. It was a brave new
world overflowing with risky, uncertain and exiting changes. What a world
that was. We were invincible. Blessed by years of good fortune,
growth and a bright, unlimited future. We were the leaders in almost everything.
</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">That
description still fits us today. But are we still the same? Have
we changed much? We sure have!</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">That
1961 world of work and the workers in it bears little resemblance to who we
are and what we do today. No computers, no fax machines, no OSHA, no EPA,
no birth control pill, no color TV, no seat belts, No Ford Mustangs, no man
on the moon, not even a man in space! But we were in the midst of the
largest baby-boom in world history. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Lets
take a look at that world of work.</font></p>
<h4 class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Workers</font></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
1961, the average worker was a white male, aged 18 to 35 with less than a high
school education. He was, on average, the only breadwinner in the family.
The modern-day women�s movement and the emergence of blacks into the workforce
was still years away. Today, 2004, women represent about 52% of the American
workforce. The also make up about 60% of all new businesses owners.
The combination of women, minorities and immigrants now far surpass the number
of white male workers. And the average age now is about 40 and it�s increasing
as that baby-boom ages.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">We
were an industrial, blue-collar society. Most workers were employed in
a factory environment manufacturing or supporting a product. But sometime
during the middle of 1961, one more worker traded in his blue collar for a white
one and we became a service economy. Today, we are a service/information/technology
economy. Some of can be defined as all three. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">McDonald�s
was beginning to hire up. But not on the East coast as they were only
a regional chain and hadn�t gone national yet. Wal-Mart wasn�t hiring
at all because their first store wouldn�t open for another year. The average
worker would start his work life with one or two starter jobs but would then
settle into what was normally a life-long career working for the same company
until he retired at 65 with a small pension (about $82) to add to his Social
Security check of $156 per month.</font></p>
<h4><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Earnings</font></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
Federal Minimum Wage was $1.00 per hour compared to today�s at $5.15 and about
to go up. The average American worker earned $2.30 per hour and took home
$91 each week before taxes. Today�s worker is earning $15.84 per hour
and averages $535.84 take home. </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Think
prices are much higher today? Not when you calculate the amount of labor
you have to produce for each item. In 1961 you had to work 8 minutes to
earn enough money to buy a gallon of gas. Today you work 71/2 minutes
for that same gallon. A loaf of bread cost you 51/4 minutes in 1961 and
it still costs you 51/4 minutes now. Coffee took 20 minutes of work to
buy a pound and it takes 20 minutes today. But to buy a gallon of milk
in 1961 you had to labor in a factory for 26 minutes. Today you can pick
it up for an average price of 13 minutes of white collar work. A family
earning $3,000 annually paid $60 in federal income taxes.</font></p>
<h4><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Society</font></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Most
American cities were in deterioration and many were in shambles. The government�s
Model Cities Program wouldn�t begin the task of rebuilding our cities for almost
another 10 years. Tens of thousands of minorities got their first crack
at the American economic dream by working on those federally funded construction
jobs. </font></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">People
didn�t trust the stock market. Most of the population alive at that time
had also been there at the 1929 stock market crash. Only 5% of the population
owned any form of stock. In 2004 over 55% of us now own stock. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">When
ALCA began their quest to serve and expand the Green Industry less than 25%
of all college students were women. Today women represent over 55% and
as a percentage, more of them complete and graduate than men do. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
1961, in the midst of that baby boom, the home delivery diaper service had become
a growth industry. It�s gone now but the explosion of day care centers
has replaced it. That�s how women were able to enter the workforce in
those massive numbers.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
few setbacks are also apparent. Back at that time we were consistently
ranked as number one or two in literacy and educational quality among all the
industrialized nation of the world. Today we regularly rank between 15<sup>th</sup>
and 20<sup>th</sup>. And in 1961 75% of American children lived with two
parents. In today�s society, that figure is down to 50%. In 1961,
we were the most productive nation in the world. Today we rank second
as the Australian worker now holds that title.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">We
also had a national effort to learn a second language. Not Spanish as
it is today, then it was Esperanto, the international language that the United
Nations wanted to teach the world. Scholars predicted it would be the
universal language for all nations by the end of the 20<sup>th</sup> century.
That didn�t happen.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">And
ALCA was just beginning their long and successful adventure with 120 members.
That family of Green Industry companies has grown to 3,000 in 2004.
Congratulations on 43 years of vision, innovation, hard work, service and success!
</font></p>
<hr>
<h2 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center">
<font face="Verdana" color="#008000">Have an employment question?</font></h2>
<h3 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><font face="Verdana">Send it to
<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=From HR On The Job">
[email protected]</a></font></h3>
<p style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana" size="2">
Please include Company Name and Association in your e-mail. Company
identification will be kept confidential.</font></b></p>
<hr>
<h2 align="left"><b><u><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hitchhiking on the Information
Highway</font></u></b></h2>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font
size="4" color="#FF0000">Dateline: </font></b></font><b>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="4" color="#FF0000">
January 2005</font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Note. Although we attempt to provide the HRU update on the first
of each month, we are normally delayed awaiting the release of several
monthly government statistical reports. We will hereafter update the information
as each report becomes available without waiting for all of them to be
released.</font></i></p>
<p> </p>
<table border="0" width="100%" height="67">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="370">
<h3 class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I.D.
Theft In The Workplace.</font></span></u></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Identity
theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the U.S. Each year
millions of people learn only too late that their personal information
has been stolen and their lives will be in economic chaos for years.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">New
studies now show that some of that information is being stolen in the
workplace.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
San Diego company was sued after an employee found a box of old personnel
records from a company they had just acquired. The employee used
those records to create 25 credit cards and purchased over $100,000 in
goods.</font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText2"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Here
are 6 key questions a company should ask itself in order to minimize this
risk:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b>1.
Gathering Information</b></u></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Do
you have a good need for this information? Are people seeing it
who should not?</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b>2.
Storage</b></u></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">What
computer security has been placed around the system that is storing the
information? Is it handled as highly classified or does it have
common access? </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b>3.
Access</b></u></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Are
passwords and general access available only to limited staff? Are
files with personal information secure with key access only to specific
people?</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b>4.
Disposal</b></u></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Is
your dumpster a treasure chest for thieves? Are electronic/paper
documents and databases rendered unreadable prior to disposal?</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b>5.
Distribution</b></u></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Do
you publicly display, use or exchange personal information in your workplace?
This includes employee membership cards, work schedules, time cards, special
permits, licenses or computer access codes? Are personnel trained
in the proper procedures regarding information disclosure?</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b>6.
Personnel</b></u></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Have
you conducted background checks an all employees who have access to identifying
information? This might include mailroom staff, cleaning crews,
temp workers and computer repair people,</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">This
issue is growing to the point where it is expected that there may be more
law suits and government regulations on the horizon.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"></font></p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">California
Determines �Extra Hour Of Pay� Is Not Taxable.</font></span></u></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
2004 California offered a reward to employees who reported wage and hour
violations to the state. The reward was an extra hour of pay (to
be paid by the employer). As this extra hour was added to the paycheck
as wages, employers applied deductible taxes to that amount. On
December 20, 2004 the regulations were amended to classify that extra
hour, not as �wages�, but as a �penalty� against the employer. As
a result taxes will no longer be deducted from that �penalty�.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u> </u></b></p>
<h3 class="MsoNormal"><b><u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Health
Benefit News</font></span></u></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Do
you sometimes wonder just which benefits employees want? When employees
were asked in a nationwide poll, how they want their company to spend
their compensation/benefit dollars, the overwhelming response was �wages�.
However, when a list of benefits (including wages) was presented in surveys,
employees nationwide chose �paid time off� over wages. That�s why
so much new legislation is aimed at paid time off the job.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText2"> </p>
<h3 class="MsoBodyText2"><b><u><span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Where�s
My Paycheck?</font></span></u></b></h3>
<p class="MsoBodyText2"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
recent survey by CCH Inc, a compensation consulting company, measured
the use of Direct Deposit as a means of issuing paychecks. </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText2"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
participants reported that in over 75% of all the companies that responded,
at least 50% of their employees used Direct Deposit.</font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText2"> </p>
<h2><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u>Quotations
Of The Month</u></b></font></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�Very
few people in the world can be relied upon to work without praise or recognition�</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<i>
Varindra Vitachi</i></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�I
have never let my schooling interfere with my education�</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<i>
Mark Twain</i></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�Time
is the stuff that life is made of�</font></p>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"> <i>
Benjamin Frankiln</i></font></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�Work
expands to fill the time available for its completion�</font></p>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"> <i> C.
Northcote Parkinson</i></font></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">�I
think a man who wears an earring could be a good husband. He�s bought
jewelry and experienced pain�</font></p>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i> Rita
Rudner</i></font><![if !mso]><![endif]> <![if !mso]><![endif]> <span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
</font></span></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote> </blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<hr width="75%">
<table border="0" width="33%">
<tr>
<td width="64%" valign="top">
<div style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1; padding-left: 4; padding-right: 4; padding-top: 1; padding-bottom: 1">
<p align="left"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Minimum Wage:</b></font></p>
</div>
</td>
<center>
<td width="100%" valign="top"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$5.15/hr.</font></td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="99%">
<tr>
<td width="13%" valign="middle" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Average
Income:</b></font></td>
<td width="67%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber4" height="76">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="76">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber5">
<tr>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Hourly</font></b></td>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Weekly</font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber6" height="50">
<tr>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
December 2003</u><br>
$15.48</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"><u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
December</font></u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
2004<br>
</u>$15.89</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u>December 2003</u><br>
</font></span> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
$520.13</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"><u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
December 2004</font></u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$535.39</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td width="20%">
<table border="0" width="99%" height="78">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="40">
<p align="center"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u>Family of<br>
Four</u></b></font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="30">
<p align="center"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$64,000 (annual)</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="13%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Federal<br>
Poverty Level:</b></font></td>
<td width="67%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
<td width="20%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<p align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">$17,650 (annual)</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" width="99%">
<tr> </tr>
</table>
<b>
<table border="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td width="37%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>IRS Mileage Allowance :</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="63%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<div align="left"><font size="-1"><b>37.5</b> </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">cents per mile<br>
</font></div>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Postage:</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="68%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">1 oz.</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.37</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Each additional ounce</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.23</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><i>Postcards</i></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.23</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<p>
<table border="0" width="98%">
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b><u>Population:</u></b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="82%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>World</b></font></td>
<td width="82%">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">6.3 Billion</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>U.S.</b></font></td>
<td width="82%">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">292.3 Million</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="1" width="99%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr> <b>
<td width="48%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">U.S.
Workforce</font></b></p>
</td>
</b>
<center>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u><font size="-1">
December 2003</font></u></b></font></td>
<b>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b>
December 2004 </b></u></font></td>
</b>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">U.S. Civilian Workforce</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">146,808,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">148,203,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font size="-1">Number Employed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">138,409,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">140,156,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Number Unemployed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">8,399,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
8,047,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Unemployment Rate</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">5.7%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">5.4%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" width="98%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="25%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1" height="48">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Absentee Rates (annualized)</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="10%" align="center" valign="top" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>1997</u></b></font></td>
<td width="10%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>1998</u></b></font></td>
<td width="11%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>1999</u></b></font></td>
<td width="11%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>2000</u></b></font></td>
<td width="11%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>2001</u></b></font></td>
<td width="11%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>2002</u></b></font></td>
<td width="11%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>3rd Quarter<br>
2003</u></b></font></td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="25%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="48">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Men equal
approximately 1/3 of all absenteeism<br>
Women approximately 2/3</font></td>
<td width="10%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.0%</font></td>
<td width="10%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.6%</font></td>
<td width="11%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.4%</font></td>
<td width="11%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.9%</font></td>
<td width="11%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.1%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="11%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<p><font size="-1">3.6</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="11%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber3" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="100%">
<h4><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">PRODUCTIVITY
OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE</font></b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
(The amount of goods produced, divided by the number of work hours
it took to produce it)</font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber2" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1992</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">3.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1993</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1994</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.3%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1995</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1996</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1997</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.0%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1998</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.6%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1999</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.4%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2000</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2001</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.1%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2002</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2003</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4.5%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>1st
Quarter 2004</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">UP
3.8% Increase</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>
2nd Quarter 2004</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">UP
2.5% Increase</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font size="-1"><b>3r</b></font><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>d
Quarter 2004</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">UP
1.9% Increase</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"> </td>
<td width="68%"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
</font></span>
<h3 align="center"> </h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="61"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><font face="Verdana" size="2">� 2004 William J. Cook</font></p>
</body>
</html>