page three' Thursday, August 10, 1972 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN BUSINESS PHONE: 764-0554 News Phone: 764-0552 Jacobson employes try SX r r1Z r R 0 By JIM KENTCII Despite the suspect firing of an employe who is active in labor organizing, attempts to unionize the work force at the Ann Ar- bor Jacobson's department store have met with some success. An election will be held t h i s Wednesday, Aug. 16, among the Jacobson employes to determine whether or not they want to be represented in collective bar- gaining with the Jacobson m a n- agement by the Teamsters Lo- cal Union No. 614. Although Jacobson's is a chain with stores across the state. the election will affect only the 236 employes of the Ann Arbor store. The election will be completely supervised by the National Lab- or Relations Board NLRB). Earlier this year several em- 'loyes began casually talking about the idea of a union. Then Mitch Gentile, a friend of one of the workers and an organizer for the local Teamsters Union, put the idea into action. At least rone third of the work f'srce must sign union authoriza- ti-n cards before an election can be held. Laura Baddeley, head of the in- plant organizing committee and a Jacobsen's employe. coordinat- ed the petition drive and gave the signed cards to Gentile. Baddeley and other employes approached workers on t h e ir lunch hour and talked to them about the union. "It got pretty sticky at times," Baddeley said. "There were a few broken friendships, and some p e o p1 e just didn't want to be seen talk- ing to us. Some were sure they'd get fired it they signed" In the middle of the drive to obtain signed authorization cards from the required 33 per cent, however, Baddeley was fired. The management gave "economic reasons" as the grounds for her dismissal. "I was very definitely fi r e d because of my union activities," Baddeley said. "And they would not elaborate on the economic reasons for my dismissal." Suspecting a possible violation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the local Te a m - sters Union filed charges against Jacobson's with the NLRB. An NLRB official found "rea- sonable cause" to believe that the NLRA had been violated, and Baddeley was given a position at the Ann Arbor store with back pay for the time lost from work. "Dealing with management is like a frosted cake," Gentile said. "They're pleasant on the out- side, but inside is another story-" In a letter to a Jacobson's of- ficial, Jacobson's president J, R. Fowler wrote, "I am sure you know that we do not believe that a union is necessary or desirable is Jacobson's." Fowler declined to comment on the matter yesterday, saying only that a union wasn't neces- sary but that the employes had the legal right to vote on whe- ther or not they wanted a union. Baddeley and other Jacobson employes, however, cited several reasons for the necessity of a union. "You can't survive on what Jacobson's pays an em- ploye," said Baddeley. The hour- ly wage starts at $1.75. Other Jacobson employes have also criticized other management practices. There is no establish- ed promotion policy, job descrip- tion list, or wage increase fo, rises in the cost of living. Raises that were promised have been refused, with the exesse being that "it's a bad time.,' "The management is Victorian, See JACOBSON'S, Page 12 The high price of corn The Lester farm in Delaware has escalated its anti-crow tactics from inanimate traditional scarecrows to live scarecrows with live bullets. Local crows have taken note that each ear of corn they eat could be their last. Mistrial motion refused in Pentagon Papers case LOS ANGELES {N)-The judge in the Pentagon papers trial refused yesterday to grant a defense request for a mis- trial and dismissal of the jury sworn three weeks ago. U.S. District Court Judge Matt Byrne said the 12 jurors and six alternates would remain a jury-in-waiting at least for the time being, ready to return to court whenever they are called to judge Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo on charges of espionage, conspiracy and theft. He said he would tell the jurors it is unlikely they would have to return before October. That is when the U.S. Supreme Court reconvenes and is expected to decide whether it will hear a de- fense petition concerning a wiretap dispute. The trial has been stayed indefinitely pending the high court's ruling. SCcharged w sit insurance sex bias By MERYL GORDON Charging that the new Student Government Council's (SGC) health insurance policy discriminates against women, several women confronted SGC executive vic,- president Lou Glazer and insurance representative Dain Newman yesterday. The women complained that the policy didn't visibly cover abortions and that the women's maternity benefits were optional, costing an extra $60. "We're very angry that women are paying the extra money," said woman's advocate Barbara Terry Kurtz. "Unless you can convince me that women get pregnant on their own, I think it's un- fair," Glazer explained that SGC Handgun bill had opted to make maternity benefits optional to lower the cost of the policy, Under the pays for health insurance.da p o e present policy, a single studcotap r vdp p y pyfohelhisrne!f maternity benefits were in- cluded in an overall plan, each - e student'would pay $77 for full coverage. WASHINGTON ('--The Sen- The women were also con- ate passed a bill yesterday. 68 cerned that single women be to 25, prohibiting the sale of able to receive maternity bene- easily concealable handguns. fits. The original policy indi- The chief target of the bill, cates that women must be mar- which now goes to the House, is ried to participate. Newman the kind of snub-nosed, cheap, said that single women are elig- lightweight handgun commonly ible to buy the optional benefits. called "Saturday night specials." Kurtz demanded that abor- Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.), the tions be covered under the in- bill's sponsor, said it would surance plan. Newman responded "take out of the market place positively, saying that "legal and the weapons used most fre- See HEALTH, Page 12 quently by criminals." However, Defense attorneys argued that the jurors should be discharged and a new panel selected when- ever the trial reconvenes. They suggested thie high court would be under undue pressure if the justices knew a jury a-as wait- illsin Los Angeles for their de- 'rise government had con- tended that swearing a second jury would constitute a secoind trial, placing the defendants in illegal double jeopardy- but the defense stated it would waive double jeopardy. Byrne said he would keep the motion for mistrial under sub- mission, as well as the ofter to waive dcuble jeopardy. The jurors' present status as a jury-in-waiting places them in a legal limbo until the trial re- convenes, which may not be until late October or November. Y it. would do nothing about the millions of pistols and revolvers tsow its private hands, Bayh estimated the bill would halt the sale of about one million of the 21' million pistols and revolvers sold eaci year sn this country. -The bill, passed after three days of debate during which tougher controls were rejected had languished in the Senate until the attempted assassina- tion ott May 15 of Alabama Gov. George Wallace. The final vote came after the Senate's 10-27 rejection of ai Iamendment, which Bayh said Sould have "uttted his bill. One effect of the amendment by Selltoman Hlruska (t-Neb would have been to permit deal- 'rs to sell the supplies they now have of the handguns that osostld be barred by the bill. It also voud have permitted the contined sale o all kids ofis aod--s until the scretIry of tio T sracted to dis- appro o_ particuslar models under the 'tandards se t by the legislation. AP those The bill is designed to close 'swhat Bayh and others have called a gaping loophole in legis- ing Iong-- lation passed in 1 i68 prohibit- guns not suitable for sporting the docks ing the importation of hand- purposes. Pickel lif. CoIfront011ion A freight truck with a broken windshield inches through a tense crowd of police and picket shoremen yesterday at a wharf on the River Trent in Readby, England. Violence fared at for the third successive day, and 22 strikers were arrested.