[The Michg n 11 Vol. XXXIX, No. 59"S
2 1 1Y atSaturday, August 4, 1979
Twelve Pages
Ann Arbor, Michigan Ten Cents
Murray to eave A2 position
City administrator to take
similar job in Cincinnati
By JOHN GOYER
Ann Arbor City Administrator
Sylvester Murray announced yesterday,
morning he will leave the city to take
the city manager's position in Cincin-
nati, the nation's seventh largest city.
Murray, 38, said he was offered the
job over the phone yesterday and ac-
cepted on the spot. He said it had not yet
been decided when he would leave to
begin his new job.
HE DECIDED to accept the job offer,
he said, because it would present him
with fresh challenges and an oppor-
tunity to advance his career.
"I'm not saying there are no more
challenges here," he said, but he ex-
plained that he felt too "comfortable"
in his present job.
As Cincinnati city manager, Murray
will take over the top administrative
spot ina city government with 9,000 city
employees and a budget of $142 million,
"$100 million more than ours (in Ann
Arbor)" as he put it yesterday.
"Y "I THINK I can do it. Am I nervous?
Yes," he said, but then added that he
Daily Photo byLISA KLAUSNER was nervous when he started as Ann
ANN ARBOR City Administrator Sylvester Murray accepted a position Arbor city administrator in 1973.
as city manager of Cincinnati, Ohio yesterday. Murray has overseen Ann Murray was born in Miami in 1941
Arbor's operations since 1973. He said the position in the nation's seventh and graduated from Lincoln University
largest city would offer him fresh challenges and an opportunity to advance in Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts
his career. degree. He held positions in city gover-
Weekend bargaining 'crucial' to
'U' Cellar book rush strike -vote
nments in Pennsylvania and Florida
before taking the city administrator's
post in Inkster, Michigan in 1970.
He came to Ann Arbor in 1973 under
former Mayor James Stephenson.
"I AM NOT leaving because I don't
like Ann Arbor," Murray said. "Ann
Arbor is the first city I would like to live
in, without being city administrator,"
he said.
See MURRAY, Page 2
Politicians
exan ne
Murray
years
By JUDY RAKOWSKY
Local politicians expressed emotions
ranging from elation to regret yester-
day when they discovered City Ad-
ministrator Sylvester Murray will be
leaving Ann Arbor to assume the Cin-
cinnati city manager's post.
And while every present and past city
official contacted complimented
Murray's extensive managerial
capabilities, other traits were debated.
"I think Murray had a great deal of
personal strength and confidence, and
he acted in the direction of being a very
strong leader," said former Mayor
Albert Wheeler.
BUT WHEELER, who held the city's
top post from 1975 to 1977, said human
rights leadership "to me was one of his
weaker points."
Councilman Kenneth Latta (D-First
Ward), said, "As a black man coming
into an almost completely- white ad-
ministration, he felt he didn't have the
mandate; he tried to make (minority)
appointments but they have all been
department heads, not supervisors or
line people." As a result, Latta said, the
proposed use of private firms to per-
form city services to save money will
affect employees with the most
seniority who are "almost all black."
"I think he believes in tokenism,"
said First Ward Councilwoman Susan
Greenberg. She said Murray is
"chauvinistic," but it is "subtly ex-
pressed."
"Sometimes he would overlook very
qualified women to pick a man," she
added.
BUT GREENBERG and Latta
agreed that Murray will leave the city
in much better shape than he received
it. His predecessor, Guy Larcom, ran
the city for 17 years after Ann Arbor's
See AREA, Page 10
By PATRICIA HAGEN
Marathon bargaining sessions
planned fortoday and tomorrow could
be "crucial" to averting a strike by the
University Cellar employees during fall
book rush, according to representatives
for the employees union and the
bookstore's management.
A strike vote will be taken at a union
meeting scheduled for Monday night
and the result of the vote will depend on
progress made during the weekend
negotiations, said union negotiator Bill
Vargo. A "yes" vote would give the
union negotiating team the authority to
call fora strike, Vargo said.
"THIS WEEKEND will be crucial,"
explained Vargo, who works in the book
buy-back department. 'Negotiations
will continue if progress is made this
weekend."
Assistant store manager John Sap-
pington said management will try to
assure the workers over the weekend
that management is willing to reach an
agreement. He said the reassurances
may keep the union from voting for a
strike.
A strike-if held during "book
rush"-would effect the thousands of
Uniersity students-who buy-books at
the start of each term at the bookstore
in the basement of the Michigan Union.
About 70 employees at the non-profit
student bookstore have been represen-
ted by the Industrial Workers of the
World (IWW) Local 660 since January.
Bargaining sessions between the union
and the store's Board of Directors have
been proceeding slowly since March in
efforts to write the union's first con-
tract.
BOTH THE UNION and management
bargaining teams have reported that
"philosophical differences" on fun-
damental issues, such as the
management structure of the store,
have slowed the pace of the talks since
they began five months ago.
Despite improved progress in recent
negotiations, both union and
management spokespersons say they
are uncertain how much can be accom-
plished this weekend, during which
grievance procedures, job security, the
question of "open" or "union" shop,
and the wage package will be
discussed.
During sessions this week negotiators
reached agreement on the articles on
health and safety because "everyone
came at it 'with a real positive at
titude," Sappington said.
"I don't think they would vote for a
strike" if the management team shows
it is trying to discuss the issues, accor-
ding to Sappington.
"NEGOTIATIONS ARE improving
fantastically," said union negotiator
Vargo. But judging from experience, he
added, "It is highly unlikely we will
reach agreement on those issues (in one
weekend)."
Gary Rothberger, another member of
the IWW negotiating team, said "it is
not a foregone conclusion" that the ap-
proximately 70 members will vote to
strike or that a strike will oclcur.
But sometimes a strike is "the only
leverage employees have," Rothberger
said. Despite the "diametrically op-
posed ideas" that union and
management have on the issues to be
discussed, Rothberger said he hopes
enough can be accomplished this
weekend to keep contract talks going.
University Prof. Tim Nantell, mem-
ber of the Board of Directors, said "I
don't think it (a settlement) is very
close."
"The existence of the Cellar is by no
.-See BARGAININGPage 2