ATTICA REIEMBERED
-rV4S FOUMI)4
Wyo L.
After four years,
By MARC BASSONis.
no
real reform
A &OR#&
DAY MARKS the fourth an-
niversary of the crushing of
the Attica uprising by armed
police. On September 13, 1975,
at 9:30 a.m., New York State
Corrections Commissioner Rus-
sell Oswald ordered state and
local police, backed by the Na-
tional Guard, to seize control
of the Attica State Penitentiary
from its rebellious inmates and
end their four day revolt
against unfair prison conditions.
As a result, the affair cost 43
men their lives (almost as
many from policemen's weap-
ons as from the prisoners' vio-
lence) and left the state with
$4 million dollars in property
damages.
For a time, the media were
filled with speculation about the
motivations and circumstances
of the event and chances for
penal reform seemed good. To-
day, all seems forgotten.
IN THE end, the prisoners'
real grievances were buried be-
neath national anger over the
manner in which the inmates
chose to express them. Basic-
ally, the prisoners had sought
more humane treatment and
the rights accorded their fel-
low men outside the prison
walls.
Typical of their complaints
were the lack of proper medi-
cal care and recreational facili-
ties, guard brutality, and the
prohibition against inmates en-
gaging in political activity. Af-
if.
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ter the first brief outcry, how-
ever, these problems were
q u i c k 1 y forgotten, leaving
America's prison system in as
poor a state as before.
Of course, we do have some'
"showcase" minimum security
facilities today. The Allenwood
Penitentiary in Pennsylvania
boasts a golf course, tennis
courts, and other sports facili-
ties - more like a Hilton Hotel
xe Cau -& an Bme
Eighty-Five Years of Editorial Freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Letters to The Dail
Saturday, September 13, 1975
News Phone: 764-0552
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
MPSC: Conflict of interest
AT LEAST 10 STAFF members of
the Michigan Public Service
Commission, which regulates the
state's utilities, will receive pensions
from those companies when they
reach the age of 65.
Critics have argued that such an
arrangement raises the spectre of
conflict of interest, a charge that one
commissioner has already dismissed
as a child of post-Watergate moral-
ity or something like that.
"It seems a little far-fetched to
find a conflict . . . but you never
know these days . . . and may be it's
a conflict if you breathe the same
air," remarked the commissioner.
The charges, however, cannot and
should not be dismissed that lightly.
The conflict exists. It poses a threat
to consumers across the state.
Utilities enjoy monopolies, with the
provision that rate increases and
other policy changes must be approv-
ed by the Public Service Commission.
Yet that commission can hardly
serve as an effective watchdog when
its staff - which drafts recommen-
dations on the companies' requests-
has a deeply vested interest in the{
well-being of the utilities.
IF THE UTILITIES were in financ-
ially unsound condition, they
could no longer contribute to the
pension funds - meaning benefits
earmarked for past and present com-
pany employes would be jeopardized.
Therefore, the staff members may
want to see a healthy profit margin
for the utilties ,even though it re-
sults in gouging the consumer.
The commission has promised a
thorough investigation into possible
conflicts. But judging from remarks
already made, it does not seem as if
the probe will be carried out with
vigor and impartiality.
Although a member of the state
Attorney General's office has noted
that a possible conflict of interest
exists, the agency has no immediate
plans to look into the matter.
To resolve the issue, an indepen-
dent investigation of the charges
must be conducted. If that study re-
veals a clear cut conflict - and we
think it will - steps must be taken
to eliminate the cause.
Clericals
To The Daily:
I AM A CLERICAL who has
worked at the University for
over eight years. I was involved
in the initial drive to get a un-
ion in because I felt that it was
necessary and long over-due.
One clerical trying to deal with
University administration is fu-
tile and I felt (and still feel)
that a united group of clericals
could deal more efficiently. I
worked long and hard with sev-
eral other people trying to or-
ganize the North Campus area,
but ultimately withdrew from
active participation because of
the discouraging results of try-
ing to organize the passive and
indifferent clerical staff.
When the union was finally
voted in, I had great faith in our
bargaining committee's ability
to deal with the important is-
sues at hand and to convince
the administration that our pay
and, more importantly, our
benefits, were sorely lacking.
We placed ourselves completely
in the hands of the committee.
We didn't want to get involved
or be bothered with weekly
meetings and so the bargaining
committee went it alone and in-
experienced. I cannot help but
think that the UAW took advan-
tage of that fact. We, the cleri-
cals are now paying for that
costly mistake. A contract that
should have never even been
considered has been ratified.
Why? At the first ratification
meeting a raise of $52.50 was
offered by the University and
our bargaining committee did
not recommend ratification. But
at the last meeting, a raise of
$43 was recommended for rati-
fication and was, in fact, ac-
cepted. Why? Where is the logic
in accepting $10 less than what
we turned down before? Why
had the paperwork for the $43
raise already gone through pay-
roll before we even ratified the
contract? Why does Carolyn
Forrest of the UAW internation-
al continually run the meetings
instead of ourbargaining com-
mittee? I've been told that it's
because they asked her. Why?
Before the union was voted in,
we were deluged with leaflets
from the UAW. Since that time
it has dwindled to a mere trickle
and has almost dried up com-
pletely.
WE HAVE BEEN BLIND and
lazy for far too long and have
lost out in the process. It's time
we took hold of the reins our-
selves and got actively involved
in our local because that's the
only way it's going to work for
us. The power of a local is not
in the hands of the union's in-
ternational representatives; it
is not in the hands of a few
(chosen or self-appointed). The
power of a local is in the hands
of its members and we must as-
sume the responsibility or else
settle for next to nothing. A un-
ion is only as strong as its mem-
bership and we must show the
international and the University
administration that we want
more than they are willing to
give.
We have made the bargaining
committee do it all because we
couldn't be bothered. That
course of action didn't benefit
us in the least. I think we should
at least give the Clericals for a
Democratic Union a chance to
explain their ideas. Some of the
members of this "splinter
group" were involved in the ori-
ginal drive to unionize. They left
the core group because they
could see that the international
was taking advantage of our in-
experience. I would like to urge
all clericals to go to the CDU
meetings, and go with an open
mind. Be good enough to at
least listen towwhat they have to
say. I think we might find that
they are not the "wild-eyed rad-
icals" we think they are. All
we have to do is listen and that
has never hurt anyone. Instead
of flinging bitter recriminations
back and forth (that, incidental-
ly, wear our effectiveness
down), let's keep our minds
open to new ideas. We are in-
telligent people who can make
up our minds when presented
with all the facts. Let's move
forward instead of moving no-
where at all.
Rose Kronsperger
North Campus
Sept. 11, 1975
CDRS
To The Daily:
THE ANN ARBOR' FREE
People's Clinic faces a grim
battle for life in the City Coun-
cil Chamber this coming Mon-
day. Through nearly a full
year's worth of discussion, re-
view and consideration with the
Citizen's Committee on CDRS,
the Clinic staff has defended its
request for federal grant mon-
ies. Its fate now rests with
City Council.
Over the past eleven months
the clinic has curtailed services
and limited outreach programs
while awaiting the final deci-
sion on funding. The current
clinic budget, if not expanded,
will be exhausted within two
months.
Unfortunately, the clinic's ef-
forts to present a comprehen-
sive funding plan may have
fallen on deaf ears. Judging
from Mayor Wheeler's publicly
stated plan to fund the clinic
in a piecemeal, temporary fa-
shion under the guise of emer-
gency funding, the mayor may
intend to deny us the long-term
funding we feel is necessary for
a stable, effective program.
HIS PLAN WOULD CALL.
for impounding $2.5 million of
dollars of funds,hwhich would
be released, at 'his discretion,
to unspecified future programs
falling under the auspices of the
mayor's Human Services Or-
ganization. The mayor has not
yet establishedcriteria for de-
termining which or to what ex-
tent "shoestring" proposals are
to be funded.
Through this dramatic politi-
cal move - a move that not
only involves a huge sum of
money but in aavery real sense
imperils several of the com-
munity's more effective social
service programs - themayor
'leads one to believe that the
funding allotments may well fall
only to more favored brethren.
Which community services
will be graced by his generos-
ity and which will be allowed
only token sops to limit their
political efficacy are as yet
unanswered questions to be
dealt with at Monday's meeting.
WE URGE ALL who are fa-
miliar with the work of the Free
People's Clinic or who feel they
have a stake in the future of so-
cial services in this community
to attend Monday's Council
meeting and help us guarantee
that our general medicine clinic
will not be forced to live, or die,
on a token.
Kevin Conway
Coordinator
Free People's Clinic
than a dungeon. Reporters tak-
en to visit Allenwood return
with glowing stories about "the
new penology."
But Allenwood is one of but a
few minimum security prisons
and reporters are barred from
inspecting maximum security
prisons like San Quentin, alleg-
edly for their own safety.
(These are the same reporters
who the government encouraged
to go to Vietnam when the war
began to report on our army's,
glamorous exploits there.)
IT SEEMS ironic somehow
that those least in need of re-
habilitation, the so-called white
collar criminals, are placed in
relatively luxurious institutions,
while those who are in desper-
ate need of help, the perpetra-
tors of violent or sexual crimes,
the thieves, the murderers, the
rapists, are incarcerated in
maximum security dungeons.
There, they receive reinforce-
ment for their criminality and
hostility towards the system
that put them there.
If a "hard core criminal" de-
cided to rehabilitate himself by
following the apparent mode of
behavior of those who designed
his cell block and maintain its
security, he would end as more
twisted than he began.
In her book Kind and Unus-
ual Punishment, Jessica Mitford
comments on the government's
efforts to improve our jail sys-
tem: "You want to appropriate
money for better prisons. I say
don't do it. Giving money to the
state to build better prisons is
like giving money to Himmler
to build better concentration
camps."
Indeed, government correc-
tions officials often seem to
bend over backwards to avoid
the charge of "coddling the
criminals." A state prison com-
pleted recently had a large
swimming pool in its yard. Pri-
son officials afraid of seeming
lenient filled it with dirt and
planted over it.
OUR CURRENT system is
honeless and it is time for a
new approach. William Nagel, a
corrections administrator for
eleven years, wrote, "If this
country is resolved to do some-
thing about the crime problem,
the immediate thing it must do
is call a halt to the building of
new prisons, jails, and training
schools, at least for a time,
while we plan and develop al-
ternatives."
One such alternative has been
developed by Dr. Sol Chaneles,
professor of sociology and a vet-
eran of countless New York
State and Federal crime com-
missions. Remarking that the
root of the prison problem lay
in the prison's tendency to pro-
duce automata conditioned to
mindless obedience rather than
thinking human beings capable
of independent survival without
crime, Chaneles developed the
concept of the "open prison-"
There are literally hundreds
of towns in this country whose
sole industry is staffing and
supplying a nearby Federal or
state penitentiary. The towns
themselves are collapsing as
old prison staff die or retire
and no new staff replace them.
Thus, Chaneles suggests that
prisoners be encouraged to
move out into the town and give
it a new blood and labor pool
as part of their rehabilitation.
A voluntary "buddy" system
could pair inmates with prison
guards and townspeople who
would eat dinner once a week,
help him find a job in the com-
munity he could fill during the
day to earn extra money, and
generally help to ease the pris-
oner into a quasi-parole situa-
tion in which the prisoners lives
in his cell but spends varying
amounts of time in the town.
THE PRISONERS would be
allowed to participate in local
political processes as well. (The
law only bars them from tak-
ing part in state and national
elections.) In theory, once the
prisoner has lived within the
town for five or ten years, par-
ticipated in its sicial life, ob-
"A fer the first brief
outcry, however, these
problems (the prison-
ers' grievances) were
quickly forgotten,
leaving America's
prison system in. as
poor a state as before."
tained a job, and elected a may-
or, he may even elect to stay
in the town upon his release
rather than return to the un-
healthy atmosphere fromwhich
he came. The state of Washing-
ton is now moving in this direc-
tion.
Of course, Dr. Chaneles' solu-
tion may not be the only one;
indeed, it may prove to be no
solution at all. But American
penology is desperately in need
of more such fresh innovative
thinking, both to improve our
prisons and to prevent another
Attica.
Marc Basson is a fresh person
in the In/e flex program.
Union sliflting members
j ISTENING TO RECENT rumblings
in University clerical circles, it
is becoming increasingly clear that
the UAW union local representing
the group hasn't lived up to its rank
and file's expectations. There is evi-
dence to suggest that the union lead-
ership has been less than candid with
their members in securing a contract
from the University. Furthermore, it
appears that the union (local 2001)
is making an active attempt to divide
the members of the union into vari-
ous factions by permitting former
contract bargainers to establish a set
of by-laws without any input whatso-
ever from the people it supposedly
represents.
Judging from the results of the
bargaining team efforts to secure a
contract last month, it is highly ques-
tionable whether they should be per-
mitted to draw up the by-laws. It
seems, at this point, that they are
more interested in their own power
TODAY'S STAFF:
trips - and extending the power of
the union hierarchy and fattening
their own coffers - than in serving
the best interests of union members.
ALL ALONG, THE UAW has display-
ed a blatant contempt and a
gross lack of sensitivity to the prob-
lems and opinions of the University's
3,200 clericals. They have instead,
quickly lapsed into a pattern of auto-
cratic rule which implicitly, if not
explicitly, discourages open communi-
cations and opposition to union dic-
tates. As was typical of what occurred
during contract negotiations with the
University during the summer, Jean
Jones, former head of the clerical
bargaining team, has consistently re-
fused to discuss any specifics of the
by-laws being drawn up by the old
unit. And it appears that the mass of
clericals won't learn of the details
until their next general meeting Sep-
tember 28.
If the UAW and their bargaining
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