"MMME4
Seventy-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
UNDER AUTHORITY OF BOARD IN CONTROL OF STUDENT PUBLICATIONS
_- ,. _ ::
Where Opinions Are Free, 420 MAYNARD Sr., ANN ARBOR, MICI-.
Truth Will Prevail
NEWS PHONE: 764-0552
Editorials printed in The Michigan Daily express the individual opinions of staff writers
or the'editors. This must be noted in all reprints.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 7, 1968
NIGHT EDITOR: CAROLYN MIEGEL
The All-American Jail-I
GM
By ROGER RAPOPORT
Editor
DETROIT - Every three years
the United Auto Workers Un-
ion and the Big-Three automakers
settle into a bargaining ritual
that is so predictable most De-
troiters know it by heart.
The latest edition ended just
last week when the rank and file
of General Motors formally rati-
fied a new contract.
On the surface the past year's
set of negotiations followed the
traditional pattern. On July 11
UAW chief Walter Reuther walk-
ed briskly into a fifth floor con-
ference room in the General Mo-
tors building and lectured the GM
executives at length on union de-
mands. On subsequent days he
gave repeat performances at Ford
and Chrysler.
After both sides met for pre-
liminary discussions and ex-
changed vague threats the com-
panies made what they considered
a generous offer. But as always
the union= rejected the first pro-
posal as puny.
THIS YEAR the companies'
economic offer was made Aug. 30.
Following tradition the UAW se-
lected a "strike target" the fol-
lowing day. That target was Ford
Motor Co. and a strike deadline
of Sept. 6 was set.
andI/
By compressing the negotiation
time and concentrating on one
target the union hopes to quickly
hammer out a favorable "pattern"
contract which it can subsequently
sell to Chrysler and General
Motors.
When an impasse was reached
in negotiations this year the UAW
struck Ford from Sept. 6 until
Nov. 6 when the company granted
a lucrative pact that included a 6
per cent annual increase in wages
and fringe benefits.
Having established a pattern
the UAW went to Chrysler and
then General Motors and worked
out similar pacts. And so the ne-
gotiations ended in traditional
fashion-the same old stock pho-
tograph of Walter Reuther shak-
ing hands across the bargaining
table with chief GM negotiator
Louis Seaton flashed onto TV
screens and newspaper front
pages.
BUT THE negotiations also
produced one big' surprise which
could change the nature of future
auto talks.
It is a seven page proposal out-
lining a "mutual aid' pact be-
tween the Big-Three auto com-
panies in the event of a strike.
Although the plan was never used
See GM, Page 8
[ Modest
Propoa
In October, 1965 I was arrested along
with 38 others for participating in a
sit-in at the Ann Arbor draft board.
Seven days later we were convicted by
Municipal Court for violating a local
trespassing ordinance and were given
10-day sentences. In November, 1965
our conviction was upheld by Wash-
tenaw County Circuit Court, this time
with a fifteen day sentence.
On December 18, eleven of us began
to serve our sentences in the Wash-
tenaw County Jail. The following is
the first of a two part series of excerpts
from some letters I wrote during and
shortly after my fifteen day stay.
-BILL AYERS
DON'T MIND terribly much that I
can't get books, because I don't think
I'll be able to do much reading any-
way. I thought that being locked into
n quiet, unstimulating place would
help me to catch up on some work;
actually reading is very difficult and
I've found that this place is most con-
ducive to sitting on the steel bench
and dumbly contemplating the floor
(which is what most people do).
I was a bit hesitant at first to talk
with the other prisoners about why
I was in, because I expected that there
would be hostility towards an anti-war
or anti-draft position. But I decided
that it would be stupid to keep saying
that I was in for trespassing (which is
legally correct), because that kind of
becomes an admission that my posi-
tion is weak or that others don't
understand and feel oppressed by the
same things I do.
When I started talking about it I
was amazed at how many people were
not only open to talk about the war
and the draft, but seemed actually
pleased to be able to tell what their
experiences had been and what they
were going to do. One young guy was
particularly articulate in telling about
how they'd been trying to draft him
and how he'd been dodging it. He's
planning to refuse induction because
he doesn't like "what's going on over
there."
The only open hostility has been
from the police. One of the turnkeys
(jailers) has come down to our cell
a number of times and, with a smile,
has sarcastically asked the other people
in the cell, "Well, you learning any-
thing form these college boys?" A hill-
billy kid from Ypsilanti shut him up
yesterday when he replied, "Yeah. I'm
learning how to dodge the draft."
Another turnkey has been even more
open in his feelings about us. When
candy was passed out on Christmas,
he asked us each what we were in for.
Those of us who said we were among
the sit-in group were told we wouldn't
get any. He eventually gave us some,
adding with a sneer, "When you get
back to college, you write about how
nice we are here, giving you candy on
Christmas and all"
Sheriff Harvey told a group of min-
isters that he was trying to protect us
from the other prisoners who wouldn't
like what we'd done. The only harass-
ment we got from other prisoners was
when one or two trustees were en-
couraged by the turnkeys to do some-
thing, like yell over the P.A.
TIME. EVERYTHING IS slowed down.
When I get out, this will look like
a bad dream, the bat of an eye. Then
I'll be able to think of all the people
who spent (or are spending) most of
their lives in prisons, or in wars, or
"strategic hamlets," etc. But now it's
painful. People in here become ob-
sessed with time and have long talks
about what time it might be. The
turnkeys, of course, will never tell us
what time it really is.
I'M ACUTELY AWARE of the fact that
I can't move. I can't walk away from
situations or people I don't like; I can't
move from one room to another for a
change of scenery or smell or feeling.
And this is important-how many
times in a day did I used to get up
and walk to another room or another
place without being aware of it, just
because I felt like it? I feel trapped;
I really just want to take a walk in
MISS YOU all like crazy. It's hard to
get letters-happy things make me
sad; and sad things make me feel
impotent. I wonder where everyone is,
what they're doing, and when I'll be
out. I want very much to tell you all
I love you.
I'M STARTING TO sound like jail is
really horrible and scary-which it
isn't. A lot of my fears have been per-
mently crushed by coming in. I guess
I was afraid just because I didn't know
what was in here. Jail is sometimes
silly and absurd, usually very sad,
often maddening-but it's not par-
JAIL IS ABOUT the unhealthiest place
possible. I'm sure it passes all the
state regulations, etc., but that doesn't
tell the real story. The food is tasteless;
people here call it "drek" or "gray"
(jail rumor has it that Mrs. Harvey is
the cook-some people call jail "Iar-
vey's Hotel").
We usually get undercooked oatmeal
and boiled, black coffee for breakfast;
baloney, bread, and tea for lunch; hot-
dogs, potatoes, and tea for supper.
When we get something like vegetables,
they're soggy and over-cooked (un-.
doubtedly without vitamins). The hot-
dogs are falling apart (they look to be
about 80 per cent corn-meal), and the
potatoes are cold. I've never talked to
anyone who could eat regularly in here,
and most everyone loses weight. (I
lost 20 pounds.)
There's absolutely no fresh fruit or
vegetables. Sheriff Harvey told a group
of local ministers that no fruit could
be brought in because someone might
inject dope or alcohol into it. This
makes some kind of weird sense. But
there's a commissary here from which
prisoners can order food. The trouble
is that they can only order candy bars
and. peanuts; no apples or tomatoes
or oranges or bananas.
Also there's no place for exercise. I
began feeling weak so I started doing
push-ups a few days ago. Every day
they get harder.
THERE'S AN OLD, alcoholic guy in
our cell. It's obvious that he's'a sick
person; among other things, he seems
to have something wrong with his kid-
neys. But there's no particular concern
for things like this, and there are no
doctors around, so he'll check out
sometime and he'll always be sick, and
he'll die in an alley somewhere.
The other prisoners are concerned
about this. They say that last summer
a guy from the Detroit rebellion died
upstairs of pneumonia because no one
investigated when the other people
up there said he was sick. This lends
itself to all kinds of fears because they
realize that if something happened,
their lives would depend on the turn-
keys, who have proven themselves un-
trustworthy.
EVERYONE IN HERE is poor. There
are young guys who've been in a
number of times on petty offenses;
older guys clearly on their way to Jack-
son; and old alcoholic-types who come
in regularly when it's cold or someone
feels like busting them. How can we
pretend that prisons make any sense
at all when the overwhelming majority
of people are poor and are constantly
returning?
FVERY YOUNG GUY I've met has
been at Boys' Training School or
Boys' Republic or Ionia. And it becomes
clear that just as Harvard has Exeter
and Andover, so Washtenaw County
has these.
It's not hard to know where they'll
go from here. An 18-year-old kid, with.
the normal, healthy 18-year-old needs
and desires, put into an unhealthy cage
for sixty days because he drank a
beer, is going to bust loose the day he
gets out, and drink maybe a case of
beer with his girl, and have a party,
get into a fight and be back in before
he knows it. A lot of the guys here
are called "County Lifers,"--they're in
for 30 days, out for a week, in for 60
days. out for two, in for 10, out for
*
UAW's Reuther and GM's Seaton take the pause that ref reshes
.,h:} } j}. h' {{':f>}Y{pr:"'r .{.?'1.4 r%?S"'rry.hV. h...::" nw:v:.v ":.v rn-rrv rrv: rr::..er.::::ar:..y ...... .... ......... . ... .....,........... " ..
.0 .?.T.''i .............. . .:..::::..: a. Y.n {....... f.M1... .. , h..h4K .^Yr,.uh .. '.... t... n..,.l Y.r....N. .rr ....... .. .................,............................................ ..
.r. .%r.......n..h", 1.. t. ... ..... ....... ........ ..
R td""N ." r".. ... ., rh..., r.........A ... ......... ....... ..'"r .................... .. r , .. . . . :., ...,....,......,1...........5 , t ....." .," ...... .., ...,.:. :.:., ..:::: "
Natr"J.......rt, .1.. .J.,.... "......., l.........h ...................... 1 i.. r. .. .. . .. ..... r...hM M1A':, :
.. ,N".NNh..V:. . . .. .. ,"...... . r .. .. , . ..,....... ....................... !f............h,"....... h...... ,,... ". tr....... ...,. ..
.rhn(h.V.... Ah.., 4.".".1.h.N:,hJ.rr"J. AYV.,Y....,M1 h1'hV: 'X}r.Y lNM".y .l.t." ....,. ..... ., ........ .. ... ... .,.,".{.... r......... 1, }.
"" A" N+tlV:J.V.IVVA.h.....hVM1.VASrh{ }i"Ntb:A.....:.h.f h.rr..VVOrrAI:IYAh."..1G."......A.hh.Lr.lo""...::rr.'r"Y::r: lrrrr: "h'.hO V:r 4"", " .".." . ..... ... .... 'r hht}.'rr Y" "\" ""Y hSYM VY. { ""1"" """ "N V"."Y::: ;...t::. : '.
" ." i .5 ":{QM1t"M1h "Vr}.Y.titM 'h.h.h......t ...... .:" M1.:: J:;":r "}
..:".nr.s...".an....}.n.hr....:S ..M1.r....an r.,S)kahatik. .i.} . :':...t
PROPOSAL FOR MUTUAL AID IN EVENT OF STRIKE
i
t
I. OBJECTIVE
A plan to provide financial assistance to a company struck over the terms of
the national agreement.
II. PLAN
Sharing of net losses of the struck company by the companies not struck.
A. Method of payment
Struck company would be reimbursed for 40% of the production lost
during the strike (assumed sales loss) if it is possible for the other com-
panies to produce this volume in four Saturdays of overtime. The rate of
reimbursement would be $500 per job not to exceed the struck company's
lost sales. As shown in Exhibit A, if GM were on strike for one month,
Ford and Chrysler could not produce sufficient units in four Saturdays to
equal GM's estimated sales loss. On the other hand, if either Ford or
Chrysler were on strike, sufficient capacity would be available at the other
companies to produce on four Saturdays a volume greater than the struck
Exhibit A
ESTIMATED SALES LOSS OF COMPANY
ON STRIKE VS. AVAILABLE CAPACITY OF
COMPANIES NOT ON STRIKE
company's estimated sales loss. Since GM would not be reimbursed com-
pletely for their estimated sales loss under the above qualification, a sup-
plemental payment would be made on the basis of the difference between
the limits reimbursed at the $500 per unit as described above and the total
estimated sales loss. These payments would be made at $200 per unit. The
calculated payments under the foregoing provisions are set forth in Exhibit B.
III. ADVANTAGES OF PLAN
The advantages of this plan are that each company's reimbursements from
the other companies are approvimately the same as the potential payments
to the other companies if they were on strike. For example, if GM were
on strike, GM's reimbursements from Ford would be approximately the
same as GM's payments to Ford, if Ford were on strike. These data are
summarized in Exhibit C.
Payments to Struck Company
1. No payment to be made for first week of any strike period.
2. Beginning with the second week, and continuing weekly thereafter, for
the duration of the strike, the company on strike would receive from
the other companies: (to be shared by the companies not on strike in
proportion to their respective normal day's production rate)
a. $500 per unit for a normal day's production by each of the com-
panies not on strike, (on a combined basis, not to exceed 40% of the
struck company's weekly production), plus
b. $200 per unit for any additional units up to 40% of a normal week's
production by the struck company.
k
R
" .a
z
t
i
's
+w
}
1sf
r
a;:a
1" "i}
1{
Y.1
$ 1
"yZ
4 };{+
}:
Daily
Rate
One
Month's
Volume
(22 Days)
473.000
264,000
132,000
Additional
Volume
on Four
Saturdays
86,000
48,000
24,000
Sales Loss if
Struck (40%
of Month's
Production)
Exhibit B
GM ................
Ford .....................
Chrysler .................
21,500
12.000
6,000
189,200
105,600
52,800
CALCULATED PAY MENTS
DURING ONE MONTH STRIKE
GM on Strike
Additional Volume on Four Saturdays
($000's Ommitted)
F ord ........................... ............................. 48,000
Chrysler ........ ... ........................... ... ...... 24,000
T otal ..................... ............................. 72,000
GM's Estimated Sales
Loss ............ . .. ..................... ........... . . . .1 89,200
Four Saturday's Volume at Ford and Chrysler
over (under) GM's sales loss.............................(117,200)
Ford on Strike
Additional Volume on Four Saturdays
GM ............... .... . ..............,..... ............ 86,000
Chrysler............................................. 24,000
Total ......................................110,000
Ford's Estimated Sales
Loss 105,600
Four Saturdays' Volume at GM & Chrysler
over (under) Ford's sales loss . . . . . . ....... 4.400
Chrysler on Strike
Additional Volume on Four Saturdays
G M ........................... .... ........................ 86,000
Ford .... .. ................................................ 48,000
Total.......................134,000
Chrysler Estimated Sales Loss....... . ............................452,800
GM & Ford over (under Chrysler's sales loss..................81,200
Exhibit C
COMPARISON OF REIMBURSEMENT
VS. PAYMENTS
GM
Ford
24,000
GM on Strike
Four Saturdays' pro-
duction at $500/unit ..
GM's sales loss in ex-
cess of Ford & Chrysler
S a t u r d a y production
(117,200 units at $200
(allocated to Ford and
Chrysler based on daily
rates) ................
Total Paid to GM..
Ford on Strike
Estimated sales loss
(105,600) at $500/unit
(allocated to GM and
Chrysler based on daily
rates) ................
Ford on Strike
Estimated sales 1 o s s
(105,600) at $500/unit
(allocated to GM and
Chrysler based on daily
rates) ................
Chrysler on Strike
Estimated sales 1 o s s
(52,800) at $500/unit
(allocated to GM and
Ford based on daily
rates) ................
Chrysler
12,000
7,840
19,840
15,600
39,600
41,200
11,600
Total
36,000
23,440
59,440
<,1
52,800
52,800
26,400
otal Weekly
Reimburse-
ment
($000's)
9,333
4,667
14,000
9,400
2,600
12,000
41,200
11,600
16,900
9,500
Exhibit D
(000's Omitted)
GM on Strike
Reimburse-
ments from
Other Companies on Strike
GM Payments to
rd Chrysler To
CALCULATION OF WEEKLY PAYMENTS
TO COMPANY ON STRIKE
*
Fo
otaI
S
S
S
Daily
Production
Weekly
Reimburse-
ment
@$500/Unit
Additional
Units
Weekly
Reimburse-
ment
@$200/Unit
($000's)
T
R
Effect on GM
Ford............
Chrysler .............
Total.............
39,600
19,840
59,440
41,200
41,200
16,900
16,900
41.200
16.900
58,100
($000's)
Ford on Strike
Reimburse-
ments from
Other Companies on Strike
Payments to
M Chrysler To
G
otal
GM on Strike
Ford .
Chrysler.
Total..
Ford on Strike
GM ..
Chrysler.
$
$
12.000
6,000
18,000
18,800
5,200
6,000
3,000
9,000
16,667
8,3;33
25,000
3,333
1,667
5,000
Effect on Ford
GM .................
Chrysler ............
Total.........
41,200
11,600
52,800
39,600
39,600
39,600
9,500
49,100
9,400
2,600
12,000
9,500
9,500
Total. . 24,000*
I
I
1200