i
I
Eighty-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Army to organize against unsafe
workling conditions like combat?
Wednesday, December 1, 1976
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Support g, lettuceboycott
THE BOYCOTT of non-United Farm
Workers (UFW) grapes and head
lettuce has been supported by the
University dorm residents for four
years. It has been supported continu-
ously, and a referendum is held every
semester; this semester's referendum
starts today, and we urge you to sup-
port the boycott once again.
The boycott as an organizing tool
has been especially crucial to the
work of the United Farm Workers
Union, and they are a union that is
dedicated to reaching their goals
non-violently. The owner of the grow-
ers in California, coupled with their
collusion with the Teamsters Union
- who would act as a figurehead
"union" without performing any of
the services of a labor union-make
the situation even more complex.
When farmworkers went on strike in
1973, in response to the 'sweetheart'
contracts signed between grape grow-
ers and the Teamsters, two of their
number were killed by the end of the
summer.
That strike was called off to pre-
vent more killings, and the emphasis
shifted to the boycott. After the first
full year of the boycott, seven mil-
lion boxes of -grapes, twice the usual
figure, remained in cold storage.-
Since then, a Gallup poll has shown
that 17 million adults support the let-
tuce boycott and 19 million support
the grape boycott.
Faced with this pressure. growers
Business Sta
Beth Friedman...............Business Manager
Deborah Dreyfuss .........Operations Manager
Kathleen Mulhern ... Assistant Ad. Coordinator
David Harlan ...... ......... Finance Manager
Pan Simpson.................Sales Manager
Pete Peterson..........Advertising Coordinator
Caswie St. Clair............ Circulation Manager
Seth Stratord............circulation Director
Editorial Staff
Rob Meachum ...................Bill Turque
Co-Editors-in-Chief
Jeff Risi ne.................Managing Editor
Tim dhsk ................. 3*uetive Urotor
Stephen Hersh...............Magazine Editor
Rob Meachium ............... Editorial Director
,ois Josmovich..................Arts Editor
STAFF WRITERS: Susan Ades, Bill Barbour,
Gwen Barr, Susan Barry, Michael Beckman,
Philip Bokovoy, Michael Broidy, Mara Brazer,
Laurie Caruthers, Ken Chotiner, Eileen Daley,
Ron DeKett, Chris Dyhdalo, Nancy Englund,
Scott Eyerly, Elaine Fletcher, Larry Friske,
Debra Gale, Owen Gleiberman, Tom Godell,
Nancy Graser, Liz Greenfield, Eric Gressman.
Kurt arju, Rbb Holmes, Michael Jones, Lani
Jordan, Lois Joimovih, Liz Kaplan, Joanne
Kaufman, Davd Keeps, Janet Klein, Steve
Kursman, Jay Levin, Ann Marie Lipsinki
George Lobsenz, Dobas Matulonis, Stu McCon-
nell, Deb Meadows, Jennifer Miller, Patty Mon-
temurri, Angle Nicita, Maureen Nolan, Michael
Norton, Jon Pansus, Ken Parsigian, Karen
Paul, Stephen Pickover, Christopher Potter,
Martha Retallick, Bob Rosenbum, Lucy Saun-
ders, Annmarie Schiavi, Billie Scott, Jeffrey
Selbst, Jim Shain, Tom Stevens, Jim Stimson,
David Strauss, Mike Taylor, Jim Tobin, Pauline
Toole, Keith Tosolt, Susan Vintill, Loran
Walker, Linda Willox, Seley woson, Mar-
garet Yao, Bill Yaroch, Laurie Young, Andrew
Zerman, Barbara Zah.
reversed earlier stands and supported
a bill sponsored by California Gov.
Brown that for the first time gave
farmworkers the right to, hold elec-
tions in the fields to determine which
union, if any, farmworkers wanted to
represent them. The bill was passed
in May 1975, and went into effect
last August. The outcomeof the elec-
tions held to date - though many
acts of intimidation and coercion by
growers and Teamsters have been
documented - is 2 to 1 in favor of
the UFW. Last February the funds
for the Agriculture Labor Relations
Board, established by the law, ran
out due to the large number of elec-
tions and unfair labor practice suits
involved.
The growers used their lobbying
power to stymie attempts at re-fund-
ing the bill, and instead proposed
major changes in the bill. This was
unusual since the bill was only five
months old (most legislation is left
alone for a "testing" period before
revisions are made; the National La-
bor Relations Act was not revised for
12 years). Moreover, it became clear
that the "changes" that were being
discussed would have made a sham
out of the election process.
THE UFW'S RESPONSE to this leg-
islative blackmail was to go to the
voters of California with a proposal
that would have written the law into
the state constitution, thereby assur-
ing hat it would receive funds. Propo-
sition 14 also included a controversial
access clause, that would have allow-
ed UFW organizers access to farm-
workers living on growers' property
after working, hours. The growers
claimed this was an infringement of
their property rights, and capitalized
on this theme in their opposition to
the proposition. This issue, plus the
fact that the growers spent over three
million dollars in their campaign
against the proposal caused the prop-
osition to be defeated. Although the
bill has been initially funded in the
1977 budget, the same kind of black-
mail is likely to occur if refunding
is needed.
It is clear that the struggle farm-
workers face for dignity and equalj
protection under the law is a mat-
ter of simple justice; it is clear that
farmworkers support the work of
their union, the UFW; and it is clear
that the UFW needs our support, by
simply giving up head lettuce and
table grapes, to realize that measure
of justice.
Continued pressure from a boy-
cott is clearly needed now.
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Mike Norton, Jeff Ristine, Tim
Schick, Bill Turque, Laurie Young
Editorial Page: Mike Beckman, Tom
Stevens, Rob Meachum
Arts Page: Lois Josimovich
Photo Technician: Chris Schneider
By DAVID CORTRIGHT
and DAVID OSBORNE
Pacific News Service
THE SCENE is a public em-
ploye picket line in Washing-
ton, D.C. Striking workers have
surrounded a key federal build-
ing, chanting their wage de-
mands and barring entry. Po-
lice arrive and a riot breaks
out. But when the National
Guard is caled in, its ranks re-
fuse to move. "Under code 3976
of the armed, service union,"
booms a bullhorn, "we will not
act as strikebreakers for public
employes."
This is just one of the many
scenarios-some envisioning re-
fusal to fight even in wartime-
that will hit the news when the
American Federation of Gov-
ernment E m p 1 o y e s (AFGE)
starts organizing GIs this Jan-
uary.
The move by the nation's big-
gest public employe union cli-
maxes two years of verbal bat-
tle. Pentagon brass have called
it "sheer horror," Defense Sec-
retary Donald Rumsfeld had a
spokesman announce that "com-
manders are not authorized to
recognize or bargain with ser-
vicemen's unions or unions rep-
resenting or seeking to repre-
sent servicemen," atn d the
inveterate conservative S e n.
Strom Thurmond (R-SC) readied
a bill to outlaw soldiers' unions.
With 30 co-psonsors and back-
ing from the Pentagon, Thur-
mond's bill will trigger a major
battle when AFGE ranks begin
to swell with servicemen and
women next year.
THE DRIVE will begin as
soon as the AFGS executive
council establishes procedures
and decides how much money
and effort to spend-probably by
January. According to AFGE
spokesman Greg Kenefick in
Washington, D.C., "J u d g-i n g
from the kind of interest we've
had from military people . . . I
would guess that for the first
six months or a year there
wouldn't be any necessity to
have recruiters out in the field.
Letters
Once we open the doors they
ought to be coming in."
The AFGE's vote to admit
military people at its convention
this October-an unprecedented
move for the normally cautious
union-was just one more sign
of the current of change moving
through American labor in re-
sponse to the last few years of
economic setbacks.
With the federal government
clamping down on wages in its
battle against a skyrocketing
deficit, federal employes have
seen their average five percent
annual wage increase fall far
behind inflation.
And after the Ford adminis-
tration lumped civilian and mil-
itary pay scales into one cate-
gory, AFGE leaders-recogniz-
ing that military servicemen
would share in union victories-
began viewing the military as
a potential source of vast new
dues income and bargaining
power.
SINCE MANY AFGE mem-
bers are civilians who.work for
the military, the union also
realized that the government
could destroy AFGE jobs by
shifting them back to military
employes - a powerful threat
during negotiations. Representa-
tion of both soldiers and civil-
ians, however, would forestall
the divide-and-rule tactic.
At the same time, economic
pressures have created an ap-
parent demand for union pro-
tection within the military.
As four high-ranking Navy
officers wrote recently in the
U.S. Naval Institute Proceed-
ings, "The high inflation rate
. . . has produced Navy-wide
discontent in the area of per-
sonal compensation. (Personnel)
. . feel helpless in their situa-
tion and are searching for al-
ternatives of action of which
unionization is one,"
The Proceedings report found
career enlisted men split on the
union issue. Some felt it would
subvert the command structure
of the military; for others, de-
clining pay and benefits out-
weighed any doubts.
F o r m e r AFGE president
Clyde Webber, who died last
summer, said, "We hear from
military people who are toward
the end of their career or re-
tired, and they are just red hot.
They talk about the loss of com-
missary privileges . . ,. about
possible changes in health ser-
vices. They want us to help
them."
REPORTS VARY on non-ca-
reer enlistees. Proceedings sug-
gested many would be apathetic
toward a union, since few are
choosing to make a career of
the service. But the federal De-
fense Manpower Commission
found in San Diego, as Navy
Times put it, that unrest over
policy changes and benefits cut-
backs was "so high that the
idea of unionization . . . came
up frequently."
According to almost every in-
terested party, from the mili-
tary to union backers, the pro-
union groundswell among junior
enlistees has its roots in the
shift to an all volunteer army.
Forced to recruit an amazing
one out of every three qualified
non-college males to maintain
force levels, the military has
resorted to advertising cam-
paigns painting images of glori-
fied civilian-type jobs on bases
and battleships that sound more
like institutes of advanced elec-
tron ics.
As a result, enlistees want
civilian conditions and pay -
piarticularly wv h e n they find
themselves - working with civil-
ians, who now make up over
half the Army's supply and
maintenance personnel. When
they discover they can't "punch
out" of their jobs after eight
hours like civilians, they often
feel they've been conned.
GEN. RUSSELL Dougherty
pinpointed the problem in an
October speech against unioni-
zation. "We must be on guard
not to oversell, as a huckster
would," he told the Air Force
Sergeants Assn., "by inflated
emphasis on the material bene-
fits of a service life, the crea-
ture comforts, the good pay,
health care, educational and va-
cation benefits, early retirement
and the unlimited opportunities
for sightseeing and travel. These
misrepresent the substance of
our service as one prolonged,
all-expenses paid vacation-and
we know it isn't."
AFGE leaders have been care-
ful to stress that it is bread
and butter the AFGE is interest-
ed in, not military discipline or
other issues that might inter-
fere with combat.
Similarly, it has given pre-
cedence in its planning to ca-
reer soldiers who tend to be
more interested in wagesdand
pensions while rank-and-filers
look to short-term problems like
discipline and living conditions.
And most indications from the
AFGE leadership point to no-
strike clauses for soldiers and
suspension of union activity in
times of war or national emer-
gency.
BUT EVEN Webber, known
as a pragmatist interested pri-
marily in wage demands, ad-
mitted what the Pentagon fears.
h "The thing about it is that you,
cannot control individual ele-
ments of an organization," he
told Army Times, "whether it
happens to be the U.S. Army ...
or the AFGE. People take into
their own hands what they think
they have to."
It is that fact that has led
opponents to hypothesize about
combat situitions in which sol-
diers, strengthened by their
union organizing experience, re-
fuse to fight.
S'tch critics are doubly wor-
ried by the fact that discipline
in the military has not recover-
ed from Vietnam-despite the
trn to volunteers. Last year
the AWOL rate, dishonorable
discharges and the incidence'of
loss of rank or pay without trial
were the highest in military
history.
Though the AFGE stresses
ecinomic, not disciplinary is-
sues, spokesman Kenefik indi-
cated that union policy on ques-
tions like hair length, working
and living conditions, court-mar-
tial proceedings and other issues
of military justice will likely be
formulated by the military re-
cr'iits themselves.
UNION SUPPORTERS often
p o i n t to Europe to defuse
charges that power to bargain
on such issues will undermine
military strength. Many West
Elronean nations have soldiers'
unions, and perhaps the most
militant - the Union of Dutch
Conscripts-did not prevent the
Dutch army from scoring the
highest points in NATO maneu-
vers this year.
"When a soldier . . .. is in a
rea.onabl, situation," one Dutch
union 'official explained, "he
will do his job better than when
he is subjected to heavy disci-
pline."
But sch assurances do little
to assuage fears by military of-
fcers who, looking over their
shoulders to the breakdowns in
Vietnam, envision union-inspired
mtines in tense situations-par-
ticularly, if black soldiers are
offered to fieht other blacks in
Africa or the streets of
America's ghettoes.
One of the trump cards in the
debate over this issue is held
by AFL-CIO chief G e o r g e
Meany, supporter of a strong
national defense without whose
backing the AFGE might quick-
lv find itself high and dry in
Congress. So far, Meany has
stayed away from the issue,
thouigh Kenefick says the AFGE
assumes it' would have heard
by now if he was unhappy about
its decision to organize within
military ranks.
David Cortrig t, a former GI,
is a PNS editor, military analyst
for the Center of National Se-
curity Studies in Washington,
D.C., and author of Soldiers in
Revolt, a book on, the Vietnart
era military.
African student speaks out:
To The Daily:
I WAS PLEASED tol
the news today thats
deer hunters have be
in Michigan this yea
year at this time, 1
had been killed.) Unfo
the same good newsc
proclaimed for the de
I wonder when Ch
realize that they ar
earthquakes because
setting off bombs.
An Anonymous Hum
November 24
Letters should4be
and limited to 400
The Daily reserv
right to edit lette
length and gramma
By ISAAC KWESI PRAH
kl T many Ann Arborites, to say
that Ann Arbor is very cold
may be a mere platitude. But to
many African students, this dic-
hear over tum has a deeper meaning. The
so far no city is not only cold, weather-
een killed wise, but the population as a
ar. (Last whole is cold, too. To an African
2 hunters coming from a much more
rtunately, closely-knit society, Ann Arbor
cannot be could be characterized as a
eer. "strange" place.
The University itself can hard-
hina will ly be differentiated from the
e getting rest of the city. Perhaps, this is
they are as it should be. However, there
is one thing about the University
which raises serious questions.
nan Being This is the policing of the cam-
pus by the Ann Arborcity police
despite the fact that, the Univer-
sity maintains a security system
e typed of its own. The University
words. should be advised that the se-
es the curity force ought to be expand-
ers for ed to cover crime-pronetsections
r. of the University and that the
city police should be urged -to
concentrate their much needed
services in the downtown area
and other obscure spots in and
around the city. This suggested
system wil hopefully forestall
(or at least minimize) the pos-
sibility of the city police know-
ingly aresting innocent students
on campus.
THE CONCERN OF this writ-
er stems from the experiences
of many students, including sev-
eral foreign students, myself in-
cluded, at the hands of the city
police. The police are on record
as having arrested and harrass-
ed several innocent African stu-
dents in the recent past on
grounds of having committed
certain crimes, such as bank
robbery and rape. What is dis-
turbing aboutrthese arrests is
that the so-called suspects were
unduly arested and harrassed
despite the fact the descriptions
of the actual wanted criminals
in no way matched those arrest-
ed. In some cases, the innocent
students were taken to the Po-
lice Department where pictures
were taken and questions asked.
. I do not suggest that students,
(or more specifically African
students), are infallible and be-
yond arres. By all means, if an
African student commits a crim-
inal offense the police may deal
with him in accordance with the
law. But where the police have
adequate information about the
suspect they are looking for,
they should spare innocent stu-
dents the embarrassment and
the ordeal of being made to
stand in the ,cold awaiting a po-
lice check on their identities,
while the oficers involved sit in
their warm patrol car. This lat-
ter experience was endured by
this writer.
WHAT DO THE police say to
an innocent student arrested
the previous day for allegedly
being a criminal suspect after
they realized that they erred in
their judgement? The answer is
nothing, in most cases. It should
be noted that such rash arrests
on the part of the police leaves
a profound impact on some of
the innocent people. To arrest
an innocent African under the
circumstances already describ-
ed, is not only to humiliate him
but to hurt his pride as an Afri-
can. No African student "in his
right mind" would travel some
eight thousand miles to the Uni-
ted States only to rape women
whenthere are very pretty, well
behaved, well-bred, decent wo-
men al over the historic conti-
nent of Africa.
This country boasts . of being
the beacon of freedom to the
rest of the world. Can't African
students enjoy this freedom
while they are here? I think
African students deserve the
same protection, courtesy, sym-
pathy and hospitality which Af-
ricans shower over American
citizens when they come to Afri-
ca as tourists-if only for the
sake of reciprocity.
OUT OF THE VOID:
CRISPdamn
it regardless
SRANK
,. t . rCIA
By JOEL FRIEDMAN
IN THE BEGINNING there was noth-
ing until CRISP came unto the world
and said, "Let there be an Ann Arbor
and its campus." And there was, but
the campus was void, without form,
and darkness fell and blanketed the
face of the campus. So CRISP said,
"Let there be buildings and facilities
and sometimes running water." And
there was and CRISP saw that this was
good, and this was the first day.
And CRISP said, 'Now let there be a
population to inhabit this campus. And
let this population consist of all forms
of life." And it was so. Thus-first
there was of His creation the hermit-
a strange form to behold, who only re-
vealed himself to large auidences for
a few moments at a week; and then
would disappear into his hole so as not
to be bothered. And CRISP said, 'Let
me call him the Prof." And he liked
this and said, "Let there be more."
And there was.
SO NEXT THERE was created those
whose duty it was to do the works of
the Profs. And CRISP saw this and
said, "Let us call him the Trying Fel-
lows, for at least they try; sometimes."
And so there were the TFs who did all
the work the Profs. get paid for. And
CRISP saw that this was not so good,
but he shrugged and said, "Too bad."
"And finally," said CRISP, "Let
there be the masses so that the profs
can give the TFs nothing to do. And let
me name them students." And there
were students; thousands upon thou-
sands of them. And CRISP said, "Let
me to each of these students give a
number, so that each will have its own
identity." And CRISP saw this was get-
ting silly and He liked it. So it was that
the campus was populated thus ending
the second day.
And on the morning of the next day
CRISP said, "Let me create hundreds
and hundreds of courses so that the
students can claim they are getting
intelligent." And so it was that these
courses were created to learn the stu-
dents; courses called Advanced Dral
Interpretation 348 and Advanved San-
skrit 507 as well as Elementary Prin-
ciples of Proper Hygience 233. Yes,
hundreds of these relevant courses were
created and CRISP saw that this was
really funny. Thus ended day three.
ON THE NEXT day CRISP said,
"Let there be hundreds of numbers and
alloted time slots so that the masses
could be confused. And CRISP liked it.
Thus ended the fourth day.
And on the fifth day CRISP said,
"Let there be the day that the masses
And so on the morning of the sixth
day this mass of students came in to
try to register. And they 'did! And for
this day said CRISP, "Let me create
havoc!" And havoc He did create. The
students registered in courses that did
not exist, they registered in classes
w i t h o u t Profs, they registered in.
course that met 26 times a day, they
registered in classes that did not meet
at all. They registered in courses that,
wouldn't register and they didn't reg-
ister in courses they got.
THE PRE-MEDS got Basket Weaving
132 and the basket weavers got Bio
331. The Polysci majors got Calculus
415 and the engineers got The Symbolic
Meaning of Plato's Actions 362. And
the football players got real courses.
And CRISP saw this was ridiculous and
He smiled and said, "Let this be day
six."
And on the last and seventh day
CRISP declared, "Let this be a day of
rest." And so the students rested and
the GEO tried to strike. The Profs
went back to sleep and the administra-
tion said, "It's not my job, talk to
Him."
'I
Id
Contact your reps
Sen. Phillip Hart ,(Dem.), 253 Russell Bldg., Capitol Hill,
Washington, D.C. 20515.
Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep.), 353 Russell Bldg., Capitol lill,
Washington. D.C. 20515.
m