IThursday,. February 20, 197 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Page Seven ..rdy eray2,19hTEMCIA AL Anti-racism conference meets 150 remain in Ad. Bldg. (Continued from Page 1) A University of Michigan! tudent listed the caucus' ma-' or objections: -the conference was being anipulated by the Young So- ailist Alliance, -the black community of oston was not properly repre- ented, -the selection of the Steer- ng Committee for the confer- nce was unfair,' -the conference did not ap- ear to concern itself directly ith the question at hand - he conflict in Boston. Their dissension was brought to a head during the second plenary which convened that evening, when the Black Cau- cus and the rest of the confer- ence clashed on various pro- posals formulated during the, workshops. The original conference group agreed to support the? Boston busing plan, and de- manded that federal troops be called in to the city to protect the black children. THE BLACK Caucus opposed the demand for troops, disa- greed with the NAACP deseg- regation plan and offered an al- ternative plan which centered on community control of schools. The disagreements develop- ed into a verbal battle between spokespersons for the Black' Caucus, and members of the Conference body. The arguments climaxed when the Caucus walked out of the meeting, urging others to join them. They met for the remainder, of the evening in a separate room, and at the conclusion of their session agreed to arrange a meeting with the residents of Roxbury, a black community presently embroiled in the bus- ing conflict. IN ADDITION, they decided to stage a demonstration pro- testing racism in front of the' home of the Governor of Mas- sachusetts, Michael Dukakis. The opening teach-in featur- ed sixteen speakers including Dr. Benjamin Spock, James Meredith, Jonathan Kozol, au- thor of Death at an Early Age - and a direct participant in the current busing program, Cynthia Wade, a student lead-, er at South Boston High. Spock opened by congratu- lating all the people attending the conference and said, "I am a great believer in conferences of this kind because everything helps a ilttle and in not help- ing a problem you allow it to exist." ANOTHER speaker, Thomas Atkins, President of the Bos- ton National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peo- pIe (NAACP) attempted to set the direction for the conference by telling the enthusiastic audi- ence, "They are trying to re- create the nigger. But I say to you today, the nigger is dead and will never be created again. Not a black one, brown one, red one, yellow one, poor white one and not a woman. There will be no more Jim Crow laws and there will be no backing away from school de- segregation - not one inch." Despite the conflict, the con- ference concluded on a note of solidarity when the Black Cau- cus and the rest of the confer- ence agreed to organize a mas- siveanti-racism march on March 17. Consensus among University of Michigan students was that' despite the ups and downs, the conference was essentially pro- ductive. One student, expressing her optimism, said "This confer- ence has picked up the pieces of the sixties Civil Rights movement and will continue to proceed." (Continued from Page 1) schedule for negotiating withi The Council issued a state- the Third World Coalition Coun- ment late yesterday afternoon, cil" approved 14-0 with two abstenr. Raymond Snowden, directr tions, to "remain in the wiild- of the Coalition for the Use of ing until physically removed or Learning Skills (CULS) and a until the University sets a firm spokesman for the Black Fa- I ulty and S t a f f Association ----------- -(BF ----- CLIP AND SAVE -r m..- - the r f der I I . istr r firr !U lsaic I I a Phone Numbers : Circulation 764-0558 r r{1 Classified Adv. 764-0557 r , Dis.ilay Adv. 764-0554 , , News * WSI 764-0552 1 : Sports 764-0562 C L v.---- CLIP AND SAVE .----s FSA), read a statement byk BFSA in support of the ronstration. WE QUESTION the admin- ation's commitment to af- mative a c t i o n," Snowden! d. The group is also support- ing the six demands. The Graduate Employes' Or- ganization (GEO) also issued a statement in support of the takeover. "We (GEO) call upon the University to negotiate in good faith with the Third World Coal- ition Council, and not to resort to violence in response to their peaceful sit-in," said the unani- mously passed statement. GEO supports each of the demands except recognition of the Coun- cil as the official negotiating agent for University minorities. UP TO 60% OFF WITH TRADE-IN OF YOUR OLD HIGH SCHOOL RING -PLUS- BECAUSE YOU'VE ACHIEVED - At 3- ' JOIN THE DAILY STAFF - --m m - m - m m m PREPARE FOR THE MCAT DAT, LSAT, GRE, & ATGSB, MONEY BACK GUARANTEE LOCAL CLASSES BEGINNING SOON A Unique Approach to EXAMINATION PREPARATION (te) 7e6t3Ce-te (313) 663-3598 I I ,1 1} ,fE U 7:. IIA IPP I r; .. ummem' ublet upplenent is coming March 23, 1975. Now is the time to submit your ad for.this annual event. Forms may be found in the Daily, at various locations around campus, or at the Student Publications Bldg., 420 Maynard St. Hurry-the first deadline is March 7, 1975. POETRY READING withI Lawrence Goldstein Reading from his works Thursday, Feb. 20-7:30 p.m. at GUILD HOUSE 802 Monroe The experiences that have "carved" your real achievements are the personal ones. Wear a class ring and remember. Order on Ring Day and save 5%. --on all sales regardless of trade-in In the MICHIGAN UNION LOBBY FEB. 20, 21, & 24-11 a.m.-4 p.m. 0 m a m m mmm- - - m - o Re port to w x1 7' The University Community NATIONAL DANCE COMPANY OF MEXICO IN "Fiesta Folklorico" FEBRUARY 20, 1975 PEASE AUDITORIUM 8:00 . p.m. Balcony $3.00 Main Fl Tickets available at McKenny Union oor $4.00 Sponsored by Eastern Michigan University's Office of Student Life Roam around- Europe..all summer folr $180. A Student-Railpass gives you two months of unlimited Second Class rail travel through 13 European countries. Buy one, we'll give you a map, and where you go next is your own business. All we'll say is that European trains are a sensational way to' get there, be it Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland; Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden or Switzerland. 100,000 miles of track link cities, towns and historic, scenicr and social attractions. Our trains are fast, modern, convenient, clean * and comfortable. And you'll discover there's very little second class about Second Class. You can sleep in a couchette for only $6.00 a night. And if you want to eat on a budget, inexpensive snacks are often available. You can even take a cruise on the Rhine, if you like. Eurailpass is valid on many European ferries, river and lake steamers and hydro- foils. It also offers you substantially reduced fares on many side excursions you might want to take by motor coach. And how's this for travel convenience? Many rail stations offer bikes for rental, and it's possible to pick up a bike at one station and drop it off at another. All you need to qualify is to be a full-time student' under 26. There's just one catch: You must buy your Student-Railpass here before you take off. They're not for sale in Europe. If you have less time to travel, or want to travel First Class, consider Eurailpass. A two-week pass costs $130. Three-week pass costs $160. s One month, $200. Two months. $270. Three months, $330. Don't wait. It could be thel trip of your life. See your Travel Agent or clip the coupon and we'll send you' all the facts..\ Prices subject to cnange. \ Euralpass Box 90 (J,.. February 18, 1975 It has been the view of the University Administra- tion, Negotiating Team, and the Advisory Committee that the present strike of the Graduate Employee Organization could be settled by consistent good faith bargaining on both sides. Criticism has been directed at the University for not more fully setting forth its position, but this has been done deliberately to allow maximum opportunity to settle the dispute at the only place it can be settled, namely, the bargaining table. The time has now come for the University to state as fully as possible where it stands. There have been a number of difficult bargaining issues. By early De- cember, we reached tentative agreement on these issues: No loss of pay resulting from jury duty, free text- books, library privileges, right to review of one's em- ployment file, automatic pay check deductions for union dues, and a complaint and grievance procedure. Also, freedom from coercion or discrimination because of union membership; and the obligation ofda depart- ment or other unit to provide supplies, duplicating service, and building and office access to its student assistants. Progress continued through December, with tenta- tive agreements initialed on life and health insurance benefits, sick leave, notice of appointment and re- appointment, and University provided desk space and bulletin boards. Through three subsequent meetings with a state appointed mediator in January failed to settle all the remaining issues, the process enabled negotiators to agree on three more areas: pretermination review pro- cedures, agreement to a contract expiration date of August 31, 1976, and a promise of no adverse conse- quences for attending employer scheduled grievance meetings. Progress on the issues continued last week in daily bargaining sessions. Negotiators r e a c h e d tentative agreement on three issues: nondiscrimination, affirma- tive action, and definition of fraction. As of today, the University and GEO are close to agreement on a consultation provision. Under this pro- vision departments or units would provide the GEO the opportunity to confer on the implications of changes in GSA funding, average appointment fractions, or the number of GSA's to be employed. In the University view, the principal issues that are left are economics, class size, recognition, and agency shop (under which all TA's and RA's would be required to become members of the union after being hired or to pay a service fee to the union equal to the amount. of the dues). ECONOMICS However justified the economic demands of the GEO, it is obvious to all that the University is in finan- cial trouble. It has been required to cut back the current year's budget by $1.5 million, and is about to receive another State directive which will require an- other significant cutback. These cutbacks this late in the fiscal year are very difficult to meet. For the next fiscal year, 1975-76, we already know that our base for this year is being reduced by 4 percent. We will prob- ably not know before mid-summer what the final budget will be. . It is absurd to suppose that the University can make arrangements with various groups with respect to pay and perquisites for the future without considering its budgetary situation. The money has to come from somewhere. It is obviously not going to come from the State for fiscal 1975-76. That means it is either going to come from increased tuition or, cutbacks beyond University and GEO as an appropriate reference group. This group includes Big Ten institutions, Michigan in- stitutons, Harvard, Columbia, California (Berkeley), Texas, Prnceton and Stanford. The 1974-75 average income for teaching assistants in the Big Ten is as follows: (1) Wisconsin-$4450; (2) Illinois-$3308; (3) Michigan and Minnesota-$3294; (5) Iowa-03248; (6) Ohio State-$3079; (7) Michigan State -$3012; (8) Northwestern and Indiana-$3000; (10) Purdue-$2880. September 1, 1975, the University is prepared to implement a salary increase of 5.6 percent or a percent equal to the established salary increase percentage for the 1975-76 instructional staff salary program, which ever is greater. In addition, the University has pro- posed a graduate student assistant tiution rate of $440 per term for eight or more credits ($353 for 6 credits), subject to any increase that may occur in tuition for other graduate students. CLASS SIZE The class size issue is one on which the University cannot permit itself to be governed by contractual restrictions. In discussing class size, factors that must be considered include: educational policy, faculty de- termination on how best to operate the department; the impact of technological change, cost, and the fact that policy and practice vary enormously in different parts of the campus. In addition, it is impossible for the University to obligate itself to meet GEO financial demands while at the same time accepting restrictions on its ability to generate funds internally to meet these demands. RECOGNITION The bargaining unit certified by the Michigan Em- ployment Relations Commission (MERC) is all GSA's (teaching, research and staff assistants), excluding supervisors and other employes. There is agreement between the parties that one must be a "student in good standing in a U-M graduate degree program" before he or she can be appointed or continue as a GSA. However, there are differences. The Advisory Com- mittee holds that such employment should be "pre- determined by the University through a department or unit to be advantageously related to the student's edu- cational goal." According to GEO, appointment to the unit should be based on the duties to be performed and not on whether it is advantageously related to the student's educational goal. AGENCY SHOP The Agency Shop is a common provision in labor contracts. We have it in a number of our present con- tracts. It is complicated in this case because the GEO appears still to represent less than half of the TA's and RA's; the representation is strongest in LSA and very weak in some of the other colleges; to impose the requirement of joining the union or paying a service fee on those who do not wish to join is a distasteful course of action, particularly in an academic group. It would be most unfortunate for any graduate student to lose employment and the ability to meet degree requirements because of nonpayment of such a fee. PRESENT SITUATION Both GEO and the University have expressed the hope that there would be no violence or illegal acts during the strike. Even so, there have been more than a dozen false fire alarms, 60-70 tires slashed, and a bomb threat, which disrupted a scheduled examina- tion. Unlike strikes in the public school system, it is not going to be possible to make up lost time. The trimester system allows no expansion of the term, and to ask students to stay during the scheduled spring vacation would impose further board and room costs which are unjustified. Meanwhile, striking employes will not be paid and these losses are accumulating. I I