Thursday, June 13, 1974 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Poge Thrsay un .1, 94 HEMIHGA DIL agyv 'U' clericals consider unionization r rive By SANDRA HAUSMAN To many people, the Univer- sity is an institution of higher learning, dedicated to higher ideals and principles than the average business, or even the average government. But to its non-professional em- ployes, the University is like any other employer - maybe even a little worse, if events of the past year are any indi- cation. In October, the University's service and maintenance work- ers began four and a half months of intense contract talks with the Regents. In April, graduate assistants voted to unionize. NOW, MEMBERS of a third group are voicing their unhap- piness with University employ- ment policies. Leaflets and pos- ters have appeared around cam- pus urging about 3,000 clerical workers to organize. A hotly debated issue among clerical workers, not surprising- ly, is wages. In November, se- cretaries at the law school con- ducted a study and found that average starting pay for a sen- ior secretary at the University was $5,520. At Michigan State University, a similar job paid $6,643, and at Eastern Michigan University, the salary was $6,250. Pay was also higher at Washtenaw Com- munity College, Central Michi- gan University and Michigan Civil Service, according to the study. THE SECRETARIES conclud- ed, "As the major employer of secretaries in Ann Arbor, t h e University is in a position to exploit the surplus of compe- tent women by paying low wag- es. Although University secre- taries have received pay rais- es . . . in the last two years, the increases have not covered the increased cost of living." The University responded with a study of its own, showing that in spite of the lower starting salaries, maximum pay for the job was considerably higher than the amounts offered at oth- er schools. And many secretar- ies who have been at the Uni- versity for a number of years oppose unionizing for this very reason. "Salaries are pretty small here in the begining." says one secretary who has worked for the University for over six years. "BUT LONG-TERM employes make good money, and the bene- fit package is fantastic. I wouldn't want to see a union come in, because you may get an initial raise, but you'd pro- bably lose some benefits. "The University's got to get the money from somewhere," she argues. A second sources of dissatis- faction among some secretaries is the merit system. Under this system, raises and promotions are awarded on the oasis of re- views by an employe's super- visor. "IF THE supervisor doesn't like you, yo''re not going any- where. It doesn't matter h o w long you stay. You can still be making peanuts after years of service," says a University Hs- pital secretary. But other clericals say ;-cy'd hate to see the system go. "You lose the incentive to work hard," says one. "Some peonle are just going to sit around, and if everybody gets paid the same, they're not going to fire you. "If you get laid off before then - well, you can always go work soneplace else," says a clerical worker at the Hospital. FOR SOME clericals, these is- sues are not essential to a de- cision. Many of the anti-union people point to negative a a s t experiences with collective bar- gaining and argue that unions do nothing but collect dues. Others say they dislike unions because of their great power cording to McCracken. Ie ar- gues that these changes a a v e improved the quality of w ar k overall. "When the University ge~s in a position where they hose to pay everybody the same amrn nt of money to do the same amiount of work, they're going to start asking for a decent day's work. You're not going to have people sitting around, getting paid to do nothing," says McCracken. HIS CONCLUSION is support- 'We're a dime a dozen in Ann Arbor. If we don't like something, the University can just point to the door. And if we do something that our boss doesn't like, it's the same story. You're out and someone else is waiting to replace you. . .-A - -_." " . . t .. . . L . ."att- ..'- ''- .- . .........:L""'::-...... you feel silly knocking ynurself out. I mean, if raises are sched- uled, not earned, what's t h e point?" Union sonporters also express dissatisfaction with the Univer- sity's grievance policy. Under present rules, employes' com- plaints go to their supervisors, and any decision can be appeal- ed to several higher University offices, according to Fames 'Thirv, Director of Personnel. BUT A secretary who works in the School of Social Work ar- goes that the employe has little control over this process, which may go on for months. "You can keep moving all the way to the top with yoir griev- ance. But even there, it's just you against the University. "There's nothing ti)guarantee a fair settlement. Rit a lot of neonle don't even start a griev- ance because their sapeivisor might discriminate against them for comolaining. A com- olaint could affect -our chances for a raise or promotion," sihe says. IN SPITE of Stark's objec- tions to the system, nin secre- taries did file grievances t h i s year. But of 20 secretaries sur- veved at random, two said they would have filed complaints but didn't have the time or energy. Also important is the issue of job security. "We're a dime a dozen in Ann Arbor," says a law school secretary. "If we don't like sotne*hing, the University can just point to the door. And if we do sane- thing that our boss doesa't like, it's the same story. You're out and someohe else is waiting to replace you," she says. OF THE 20 secretaries inter- viewed, six said 'hey knew of cases where fellow clericals had been fired or "elbowed out" by sunervisors. But for many of the older or more professional secretaries, this is not a concern. "On c e you've been here a while, over individuals. A third group says they would be unhappy if the union ever called a strike. "Union meetings so far have sounded like cheerleading ses- sions with all the strike threats. But many women here are sup- porting children, and they need the income from their jobs. They can't afford to go out on strike for long," says the law school secretary. SUPPORTERS of the unioniz- ing effort, however, point proud- ly to achievements of service and maintenance workers on campus. As members of t h e American Federation rf State, County and Municipal Employ- es (AFSCME), these workers have made great progress, claims local president Charles McCracken. Of those service and main'en- ance workers who were with the University when the first con- tract was negotiated :n 5968, McCracken says most are mak- ing 50 per cent more money. "We now have job security," McCracken adds. "As long es a person does his work, he does not have to worry about some- body kicking him out the docr. "IN FACT, it's almost impos- sible to fire anyone around here right now. Before the University gets rid of any union msem- ber, they have to write us a let- ter to notify the union. And then we meet to discuss it. The employer has to have a pretty good reason before we'll agree," he says. The grievance system is also stronger for union members and the merit system is gone, ac- We Know How To Do It U-M Stylists at the UNION ed by Personnel Director Thiry. With collective bargaining and a uniform pay scale, Thiry says, "there's evidence of less tol- erance for the marginal worker. The employer can't afford to have soft spots in the organiza- tion." But with so many angles to consider, 24 of 85 clericals re- cently questioned said they still had not decided or didn't know enough about unionizing. To make matters worse, those who decide they want a union will have to choose between two, each promising a program and enumerating the benefits of that particular program. SUPPORTERS of the United Auto Workers (UAW) claim a strong bargaining record f o r the union. They also like the UAW's separate division for clerical and technical workers. Another group favors AFSCVE to represent campus secretaries. Because University emplayes are public servants who work under different labor laws than private employes, they say a special union is called ftc-- one which, like AFSCME, repre- sents only public employes. But at this stage, a final de- cision is months away. Union supporters are currently circu- lating interest cards which are signed by employes who ought want to unionize. WHEN THEY have c-ards from a third of the secretaries on campus, supporters here will petition the Michigan Employ- ment Relations Commission (MERC) to hold an election. At that point, clericals w o u I d have the right to vote for UAW, AFSCME or a no-union option. While 24 of 85 clericals ques- tioned had not made a decision, 19 said they opposed unions, and another 42 supported the idea. A UAW organizer reports that, in fact, over a third of the workers concerned have mailed in cards. But the group is re- portedly working on a second third to compensate for what it calls an incredibly high turn- over in staff at the University. BY COLLECTING more cards than they need, UAW support- ers hope to avoid the possibil- ity of finding that many secre- taries who signed cards in the spring have left before a veri- fication check by MERC. AFSCME would not disclose the number of cards w h i c h they have obtained. It is difficult to predict the outcome of the final election which union supporters plan for sometime this fall. The Univer- sity, which is legally barred from taking sides in the con- troversy, says it will mace sure its employes "have all tMe facts before making a decision." BUT THE Office of Per- sonnel isn't going to "waste ink" See 'U', Page 10 TONIGHT! June 13th 7 and 9:15 P.M.-$1.25 THEY USED EVERY PASSION IN THEIR INCREDIBLE DUEL! At Last Available in English THE GULAG ARCHIPELAGO By SOLZHENITSYN Not in years has a book been so eagerly awaited. SOLZHENITSYN'S GREATEST4 MASTERPIECE CE NTICO E B UOKSONS 336 MAYNARD 1229 S. UNIVERSITY A Hal Wallis Production Vane s lenda Redgrave -"Jackson A UNIVERSAI, RELEASE T EHNICOLOR*e-PANAVISION Next WEDNESDAY- 7, 8:45, and 10:30 P.M.--$.25 TE TRIPLE AWARD WIIER ISBRACI COLUIPC RS e5,,, JACK NICHOLSON I-7VEERSUiB *PIECE r'g Next TUESDAY- 6:45 and 9:30 P.M.-$1 .25 ehulren under 1 2tile WINNER OF 3 ACADEMY AWARDSI TECHNICOLOR* PANAVISONS nA V~comnaknomp"w- Thur. June 20-$1.25 Lord of the Flies Tues., June 25-$1 4Uited Artiss Wed., June 26--1.25 Marx. 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