http://www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2005/08/20/news/news1.txt

PAIN AT THE PUMP: COMMUTERS WORK MORE TO PAY FOR GAS

By Doug Thompson/Arkansas News Bureau

Saturday, August 20, 2005

FAYETTEVILLE --

People drive as far as 70 miles to their job at the Georgia Pacific
mill in Crossett, which has some of the best wages in the Southeast
Arkansas' corner, said state Rep. Johnnie Bolin, D-Crossett.

Whether they can continue to afford that trip at today's high gasoline
prices appears doubtful, said legislator, who retired from that same
plant after 38 years there.

"That was the talk in the coffee shop this morning, about people
moving into Crossett so they can afford the trip to work," he said in
an interview Wednesday.

Arkansas ranked 50th in per-capita income but ranks 32nd in gasoline
use, according to U.S. Department of Energy figures.

Arkansans used 34.1 million barrels of gasoline in 2002, according to
the latest agency figures.

That's about 13 barrels, or more than 500 gallons, per person in the
state in one year.

Driving to work is a big part of that, and a part that is hardest to
change, spokesmen for business and workers said in interviews.

Arkansas is a rural state.

The jobs are in cities, but homes are in the countryside and smaller
towns, they said.

Workers who spend more money on gasoline have less money to spend on
anything else.

That impact was noted by Arkansas companies from Wal-Mart, the world's
largest retailer, which reported that impact in its last quarterly
report, to convenience stores that recently announced closings in
southeastern Arkansas, leaving no gas stations within 20 miles of some
towns.

Building trades -- plumbers, electricians, pipefitters and others --
are among the hardest hit workers, said Alan Hughes, president of the
Arkansas AFL-CIO.

"They have to drive to the job site, wherever it is," Hughes said
Wednesday.

"They're traveling around, stuck in the wages they agreed to when the
bids went out. They signed contracts before the last big increase in
gas prices. They can't walk in and say, 'Hey, I need another $10 a
week because of these gas prices.' They're having to drive 70 miles
one way to work because that's where the job's at."

Skilled workers haul their specialized tools, equipment and materials
to the job, Hughes said.

"Motorcycles and bicycles aren't options," he said.

"You can't just go buy yourself a hybrid and fix this problem.

"If you go the construction site with your tools and trailers, and the
site's in Little Rock and you live in Pine Bluff, that's 90 miles
every day in a 16 mile-per-gallon truck," Hughes said.

"You can't lose your job, and you can't afford to keep this up. You
can't afford to go home to your family at night, and you can't afford
a hotel. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't."

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Harry