Linda Wertheimer talks to Andrew Kohut, Director of the Pew Center for People and the Press, and to Chris Matthews of CM Research, who does polling for Republican candidates, on the gender gap. They discuss why women appear to be staying away from Republican primaries; and why the political language of the Republican party in 1994 and again this year appears to be more appealing to men than to women. Both Matthews and Kohut suggest ways the GOP may be able to overcome what could be a serious problem for Senator Dole in the coming November elections. (7:30) IN STEREO 2B CUTAWAY 0:59 Funder 0:29 XPromo 0:29 CUTAWAY 2B 0:29 RETURN2 0:29 NEWS 2:59 NEWS 1:59 THEME MUSIC 0:29 2C 13. GM STRIKE -- Linda talks with Harley Shaiken, a labor specialist at the University of California at Berkeley, and David Cole, director of the Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation at the University of Michigan, about the strike at General Motors that has shut down 21 assembly plants across the country and threatens to escalate into a national ordeal. Cole talks about the industry's push to become leaner and their use of "just-in-time manufacturing." Following the lead of Japan, GM now keeps only a very small supply of critical components, like brakes, in stock. Shaiken explains how this practice gives union strikes considerable leverage because a small number of strikers can paralyze a large organization.
Copyright 1996 NPR
