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Sunday, ebruary , 19 4
WALLABEE
LOOKING
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
BACK
...makes:
concrete
feel like grass
MEN'S
Sand or brown suede; block,
brown or white calf . . . $32.00
Boot style: sand or brown
suede ......... ..$34.00
WOMEN'S
Sand or brown suede; brown or
white calt . . . . ..... $30.00
Strike looms
By the end of the week, a
mood of fatalism was taking hold
among negotiators for the teach-
ing fellows and the University ad-
ministration.
After meeting with TF leaders
Thursday afternoon, President
Robben Fleming seemed ready to
throw in the towel. A strikae
vote, he conceded, is now all
but inevitable.
For their part, organizers for
the TF's Graduate Employes Or-
ganization (GEO) seemed ready
to take the p 1 u n g e. They
agreed Thursday night to hold an
election among the University's
1600 graduate employes wi t h
a vote of 800 or more necessary
to approve a strike. GEO Chair-
woman Sandra Silberstein pro-
claimed, "The battle lines are
drawn!"
TF leaders blame the current
impasse on what they describe
as the "intransigent" bargaining
attitude of the University.
One TF gave his class the fol-
lowing account of the relation-
ship between GEO and President
Fleming:
"We had been trying for months
to get a meeting with Fleming.
He just never answered our let-
ters or returned our calls. Then,
a couple of weeks ag-, someone
mentioned the possibility of a
strike at one of our meetings and
it was reported in a newspaper.
The next morning, Flemings sec-
retary called us and said, 'Gosh,
I've been trying to get in touch
with you people'."
Although the story may be
apocryphal, it is indicative of
the feeling among TFs that the
administration has not been re-
sponsive andrthat aitrike is the
only way to force action on their
demands.
Whatsdo the TFs want
More money, for one thing.
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Describing his rather cramped
life-style on a fellowship °stip-
end, a TF commented, "I just
can't go on like this anymore."
More important, however, is
recognition of GEO as a legiti-
mate bargaining agent. It is on
this issue that the chasm be-
tween the administration and the
TFs is greatest
President Fleming has firmly
refused to even consider such a
move, insisting that he won't re-
cognize GEO unless he is forced
to do so by the state's Employ-
ment Relation's Commission
(MERC).
Applying to MERC for certifi-
cation, GEO responds, would
only lead to a protracted legal
hassle.
. While a strike vote seems
inevitable, several que4tions re-
main unanswered:
" How much support does GEO
have among rank and file teach-
.ing fellows?
* What will be the response
to a strike by students and ten-
ured faculty?
" How will the University re-
spond?
Last week President Flemtng
said, "I don't know what sup-
port GEO has and I don't think
they really know either. '
Even the TF leade -s them-
selves are uncertain. "Right
now," one of them said Thurs-
day, "I'd put the odds at about
60 to 40 in favor of a strike."
Clearly, the support enjoyed
by GEO varies widely from de-
partment to department. A con-
census "gestimate" rates GEO
strength by department some-
thing like this:
Romance languages and mathe-
matics: strong support; political
science and history: some sup-
port; English and the physical
sciences: little or no support.
The GEO leadership is consid-
ering plans to throw ii: picket
lines around major class build-
ings, and such a move would
clearly force the issue
At this point, most undergrads
seem at least sympathetic. Their
concern centers around two ques-
tions: Will an increase in TF
salaries mean anotn.r tuition
hike? and will I lose my credits
if there's a strike?
The GEO leadershin moved to
deal with the first problem Fri-
day night, voting to put a "zo
tuition hike" plank in their list
of demands. The organization as
a whole, is divided on the ques-
tion, however, and approval of
the plank at tomorroN night's
mass meeting remains uncer-
tain.
Meanwhile, the administration
has been carefully nonr umnmit-
tal, taking the position that it is
too early to tell what effect a
TF settlement could ha v, on tui-
tion rates.
The issue of credits is simil-
arly muddled. Teachiag fellows
play a major role in many cw'trs-
es, grading tests and papers and
conducting recitation sections. No
department has yet issued any
statements on courses and cre-
dits in the event of a strike.
Ideally, GEO would like to see
a parallel student class strike.
Realistically, they know the cur-
rent mood of the campus makes
such active support unlikely.
"I guess if the students just
remain apathetic we'll have to
be satisfied," one TF comnment-
ed.
Almost equally important is the
question of faculty support.
Prof. Dan Fusfeld' "union"
has already declared its support.
By his own admission, however,
the group only represents around
10 per cent of tenured professors.
On the whole, the faculty ap-
pears uncertain of what to do.
As one TF put it, "The faculry
can't decide whether the TFs
are 'one of us' or 'one of them'."
One group whose stance is
clearly unambiguous is the ad-
ministration.
Right now, President Fleming
isn't ruling out any options in-
cluding the possibility of seeking
a court injunction to stop a
strike.
* * *
Rent control
Rents moved to center stage
as the city's number one cam-
paign issue last week with the
disclosure that the Board of
Realtors is mounting a multi-
thousand dollar campaign to de-
feat the rent control proposal on
the April ballot.
According to members of the
Human Rights Party - sponsors
of the rent control proposal - a
committee known as Ciazens Op-
posed to Rent Control 13 asking
each local landlord to contribute
$5 per rental unit to the effort.
If successful, the campaign could
generate as much as $85,000.
This city's unusually high rents
MAST'S
SHOES
619 E. Liberty
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AST TWO SHOWS TODAY!
ULRICH'S
have long been a point of con-
tention between left-leaning poli-
ticians and Republicans and their
business allies.
Last spring, -a Democrat-HRP
controlled council estahlished a
commission to study the prob-
lem. Its report is due soon. r
In the meantime, HR? gath-
ered signatures to put their own
rent control proposal on the bal-
lot. Their plan, if approved,
would freeze rents, control pro-
fits and provide for arbitration
between landlords and their ten-
nants.
Just how seriously the land-
lords take'this is ampiv demon-
strated by the almost hysterical
tone of their campaign raetoric.
Fund raising letters, released
to the press by the HRP, warn
that nothing less than 'the right
to retain private ownership and
maintain the free enterprise sys-
tem" is at stake. The proposal,
one letter charges, is designed
"to bring people who 7wn, oper-
ate or manage property to their
knees."
This massive, weil financed
anti-rent control campaig'i coup-
led with Mayor James °tephen-
son's use of his city ball office
to coordinate the fight against
another proposal popular with
young voters - a redaction in
the marijuana penalty -is
likely to polarize this election
like never before. And this polar-
ization may make the position of
some local Democrats very dif-
ficult.
Seeking to finally win the stu-
dent vote back from -he IIRP,
the Dems have been taking a
low profile stance on oath pro-
posals, giving them half-heart-
ed support "in principle", while
warning that they may not be
workable.
Daily Photo by KAREN KASMAUSKI
A shrill GOP/landlord counter-
offensive on these issues .V i 11
make this an increasingly un-
comfortable fence straddle, and
the Democrats may find them-
selves forced closer and closer
to the HRP position as the cam-
paign heats up.
Dorm hike
"Just another slap in our fac-
es" - that's how a member of
the Housing Policy yConmittee
reacted to the refusal of the Re-
gents to approve their suggestion
that Stockwell Hall go co-ed.
According to HPC member Ron
Beck, a lot more than sexual
liberation is involved, -as t h e
Stockwell proposal was crucial
to the committee's fig'it against
a proposed 8 per cent dorm rent
hike.
As things stand now, the Hous-
ing Department can't find enough
women to fill thc, all-female
dorm. At -the same time, the de-
partment is strapped for space .
for male students.
Beck says filling empiy rooms
in Stockwell with male students
would save enough money to
make a rent hike unnecessary.
HPC recommended the m o v e
when a survey of Stockwell re-
sidents showed more women
would return next year if the
dorm went co-ed.
The Regents action, B e c k
says, closed off one of the "few
remaining options for saving
money."
Another dorm hike, now al-
most inevitable, is not likely to
please quaddies who are likely to
view it as just one more step
in a long term trend of increas-
ing rates and deteriorating ser-
vice.
-CHRIS PARKS
{
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"THE FINEST REPERTORY COMPANY IN NEW YORK CITY"
-New York Times
"ONE OF THE MOST ENGAGING AND TALENTED YOUNG
TROUPES I HAVE EVER SEEN"-Boston Globe
"BRILLIANT! THE COMPANY IS A JOY!"-Cue
BRAND NEW
REFERENCE
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BOOK
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PLAY IT AGAIN, SAM
A high-falootin', fast shootin', rootin'-toonti' comedy.
-ALSO-
Woody Woodpecker in
"TERMITES FROM MARS"
(color, 10 min
Monday, Feb. 18 Natural Science Aud. 7 & 9 p.m.
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ONLY
$1.O0 to $2.95
originally published at
$4.95 to X24.95
The Prefossional Theatre Program welcomes the
CITY CENTER ACTING COMPANY
JOHN HOUSEMAN, Artistic Director
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presenting
JOHN GAY'S
THE BEGGAR'S OPERA
Feb. 16, MATINEE at 3 P.M.
and SHAKESPEARE'S
MEASURE FOR MEASURE
FEB. 168i 17 at 8 P.M. / FEB. 17 at 3 P.M.
MENDELSSOHN THEATRE
Tickets: PTP Ticket Office-Mendelssohn Lobby
764-0450
ummer
ublet
Supplement
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FOR ONLY $7
You Can Place A
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3 i m mm. mm mm mmmi rn m~~~~a =a= amm m m~inmim mm mm m mm m~ m mmm am mmmmmmum400 m a
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. THE MICHIGAN DAILY
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"SPECIAL SHOWING"
New Movie on the October War
"THE YOM KIPPUR WAR
TUESDAY, FEB. 19
TWO SHOWINGS-7:30 and 8:30 p.m.
at HILLEL-1429 Hill St.
UNIVERSITY LECTURE
The Department of Rc'mance Languages and Literatures
Presents a PUBLIC LECTURE
Realism and the Fantastic
BY
Professor Bernard Vannier
Director, Eurocentre, Paris
TUESDAY, Feb. 19-4:10 p.m.
Lecture Room 1, MLB
Uncle Bruno
by JOHN ZEBROWSKI
A collection of short stories about
Polish immigrants in Michigan and Pennsylvania
during the "nostalgic" 1920's
$1.50
available in Ann Arbor at
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