The Michigan Daily-Sunday, April 13, 1980-Page 3
Bonior:
~j.S. liable
for Agent
Orange
By MAUREEN FLEMING
Vietnam War veterans must unite to convince
the Veterans Administration to provide
disability payments to victims of Agent Orange
poisoning, U.S. Rep. David Bonior (D-Mt.
Clemens), said yesterday.
Bonior, chairman of a legislators' caucus on
Vietnam veteran issues, spoke to 50 veterans
yesterday at a legal conference sponsored by the
Association of Concerned Veterans.
BONIOR IS sponsoring a bill that would
provide for disability compensation to veterans
who have symptoms of Agent Orange poisoning.
According to the proposed legislation, the
veterans would not have to prove they were in
direct contact with the poison in order to receive,
compensation, Bonoir explained, they would
only have to prove they had the symptoms.
Between 1962 and 1970, 11, million gallons of
Agent Orange-a chemical defoilant-were
sprayed over Vietnam jungles by the U.S.
military, Bonior said, and each of the 2.8 million
American soliders who were in Vietnam have
been in contact with the substance. Some of the
soldiers were directly sprayed with Agent
Orange and others were exposed by eting con-
taminated food or drinking.contaminated water,
he added.
VETERANS HAVE reported ill-effects from
exposure to the toxic chemical including
chloracne (a skin rash) and birth defects in their
children. Dioxin, a substance in Agent Orange,
has been linked to cancer, DNA alteration, and
birth defects, Bonior said.
"There have been five independent studies
which establish a clear association between ex-
posure to Agent Orange and cancer," Bonior ex-
plained. "And despite all this evidence, the
Veterans Administration refuses to admit the
truth."
The victims of Agent Orange poisoning are a
primary concern of the caucus of federal
legislators who are Vietnam-era veterans,
Bonior said. The group was formed because
there was a lack of interest in Vietnam veteran
issues on both the Senate and House veterans'
committees, he added.
JULES OLSMAN, an attorney in the audience
said veterans have told him that not only has the
Veterans Administration refused to pay for toxic
poisoning tests, but has also cut disability
payments when they tell them that Agent Orange
may have caused their disability.
Olsman later said a class action lawsuit was
filed in March against seven chemical com-
panies who supplied the government with Agent
Orange.
The suit was filed against the-companies
because they had full knowledge of the harmful
effects of this substance when they sold it to the
government, he said.
"This case is like any other products liability
case with the exception that it is potentially wor-
th billions of dollars," Olsman commented.
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.
Cellar's labor tensions ease;
'U' to be focus of AZ
'Big Business Day'
store council
makes decisions
BY ELIZABETH SLOWIK
The University Cellar bookstore
doesn't look much different than it
did last year when union-
management tension threatened
store operations. Pens, books,
deodorant, and desk lamps still
overflow the shelves in the store in
the basement of Michigan Union.
Hand-lettered signs still decorate
the various departments.
But in the three months since a
ew managerial structure was in-
orporated and a new 14-member
council was created, the high-strung
emotions caused by a year of con-
tract disputes have ebbed.
The student-owned and controlled
bookstore offers textbooks and other
supplies at discounted prices. The
Cellar was established a decade ago
after student demonstrations again-
st University administration reluc-
tance to allow the student bookstore.
"It's a responsibility for all em-
loyees. The political ideology and
rhetoric are gone," said Nelson
Jacosen, a member of Cellar's
Board of Directors. "I'm happy with
y what's happening." Jacobsen, a
University junior, was the board's
president during the long months of
controversial contract negotiations
between newly organized members
of Industrial Workers of the World
(IWW) Local 660 and the board of
directors.
THE UNION'S first contract,
guaranteeing worker input in store
decisions, was signed in October.
A committee consisting of four
union members and four board
representatives devised the council,
and the proposal was approved by
both sides last December.
The council includes 11 depar-
tment representatives and three
store managers-General Manager
Tudor Bradley, Assistant Manager
John Sappington, and Personnel
Director Bruce Weinberg.
THE GROUP meets twice a week
and is directly responsible for the
bookstore's day-to-day operations,
such as departmental budgets; ad-
vertising, store appearance, and
allocation of floor space, according
to Chairwoman Jan Self.
THE COUNCIL'S creation
culminates more than a year of
dissatisfaction with the Cellar's
managerial structure.
The IWW unionization drive in
1977 and early 1978 and the issue of
management and worker role
definition triggered conflicts
throughout the bookstore. A report,
which assessed the store operations,
said 79 per cent of Cellar employees
mistrusted the board and 88 per cent
mistrusted management.
Last February, the board attep-
pted to implement a hierarchial
management structure with little
worker input. The move was met
with a two-day employee sick-in.
The board withdrew its structure
proposal.
"We were trying to create
something nobody could agree to,"
Sappington said.
When negotiations stalled at the
end of August, Cellar workers held a
three day long strike.
A contract was approved in Oc-
tober, and the council described in
the contract has been at work for
three months. It is beginning to
make progress and form policy
decisions, Self said.
One of the council's major goals is
to develop a store-wide budget for
the upcoming year, said Self.
An accounting firm is studying the
Cellar's financial system, according
to Jacobsen, and the bookstoe will
start using a more formal budgeting
system. "It's a decision-making
tool," Jacobsen said.
BEFORE THE contract was
negotiated the council's decision-
making role was held by managers
Bradley and Sappington.
"We don't have the authority for a
final decision," Sappington said. In-
stead, he said he views his job as
"feeding stuff into the council."
Sappington, who has worked at the
stoe since 1972, said he is relieved to
see politcs receeding from the store
operations. "The group is working
toward the same goal rather than
trying to implement something on
each other," he said.
In addition to planning for a
location change and expansion the
Cellar council- is exploring the
possibilityu of selling U-M momen-
tos and insignia merchandise and
running book buy-back services on
North Campus.
By BONNIE JURAN
In an effort to expose "abuses of cor-
porate power", groups in more than 100
cities across the nation are planning
teach-ins, debates, and film festivals on
April 17 which has been designated
"Big Business Day" by a coalition of
consumer, labor, religious, and student
organizations.
The University will be the focus of the
Big Business Day events in Ann Arbor,
according to Rob Leighton, a member
of the Students for Employment and
Economic Democracy (SEED) and an
organizer of the event. Leighton said
the local coalition of student, labor, and
religious groups chose to target the
University because they say it is the
"corporation" which holds the most
sway over the lives of students and it
must be held accountable to the public
for its policies.
The University's policies to which
Leighton specifically referred were
those concerning tenure, women,
minorities, and investment. Leighton
said the University's investments in
South Africa and its discussions of
possibly changing the Women's Studies
program next fall are two areas where
the University has been "socially
irresponsible."
THE EVENTS taking place April 17,
including a Diag rally and four
workshops, will culminate that evening
with the first meeting of the People's
Board of Regents. The board will be
composed of representatives from the
organizations which make up the
coalition and will hear the grievances of
union members, women, minorities,
and community members. The board
will also "shadow" the official Board of
Regents in order to detail its policies
and propose policy alternatives,
Leighton said.
According to Leighton, the University
needs the input of the type of people
represented in the coalition who can
"pose an alternative perspective to the
University." He said without hearing
the opinions of those outside the ad-
ministration of the University "might
start cutting programs like Project
Community or the Residential
College,"(if it is faced with mandatory
budget cuts), and then it would find it-
self in "rigid confines with no way to
broaden its horizons."
IN WASHINGTON, representatives
of the Big Business Day coalitions have
introduced the "Corporate Democracy
Act" in Congress. The bill would make
the "800 largest non-financial cor-
porations more accountable to con-
sumers, employees, and shareholders,
according to Andy Buchsbaum, public
relations director for the coalition.
Hearings on the Corporate
Democracy Act are scheduled to begin
April 17.
N ativ e Americans
i4ra, cx.}"r't"r~i:: a:>:>::'>::,> :{:di: i; on beads, feathers
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CAMP TAMARACK
Good Summer jobs still
available at Brighton
and Ortonville, Mi.
IntiingApr.17
SUMMER PLACEMENT
Call 764-7456,
for appointment
Open house for 1980
staff, 7:30 pm Hillel
Fresh Air Seoey
6600 W. Maple Rd.
W. Bloomfield, M.,48033
313/661-0600
Coll or write for further
information
SUNDAY
FILMS
Cinema Guild-Chinatown, 7, 9:30 p.m., Old Arch. Aud.g
Cinema Two-The Fire Within, 7, 9p.m., Aud. A, Angell.
SPEAKERS
Gay Discussion Group-Reverend Ed Koster, "Christianity and
Sexuality,"6p.m., 802 Monroe.
Hillel-William Brodhead, "Soviet Jews and the Breakdown of Deten-
te,"12 p.m., 1429 Hill.
CONFERENCES
Rudolf Steiner Institute-"Biodynamic Gardening-Beyond the Organic
Method," 10:30a.m.,1923 Geddes.
MEETINGS
Hiking Club-meet Rackham N.W. entry on E. Huron, 1:30 p.m.
Women's Crisis Ctr.-Potluck and Council Meeting, 6 p.m., 2111/2 Fourth
Ave.
PERFORMANCES
Residential College/East- Quad-Chamber Music Spring Concert, 2:30
p.m., East Quad Aud.
Residential College-"From Page to Stage," 8 p.m., East Quad Aud.
Canterbury Loft-"Homegrown-Women's Music Series," 7:30 p.m.,
332S. State.
* University Lutheran Chapel Choir and Orchestra-Bach's Cantata
Number Four, 10:30 a.m., 1511 Washtenaw.
Museum of Art-Baroque Trio, 2:30 p.m., museum.
Ann Arbor Indian Pow Wow-2 p.m., Huron High School.
MISCELLANEOUS.
WUOM-UM Presidential Inaugural: Program to precede inauguration,
1 p.m.,91.7FM.
Hillel Foundtion-Vigil in memory of victims of Nazi Holocaust,
2 p.m.,Diag.
MONDAY
FILMS
Cinema Guild-The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, 7, 9:05 p.m.,
Old Arch. Aud.
Wesley Founation-Union Maids, 12:10 p.m., 602 E. Huron
SPEAKERS
Applied Mechanics-Richard Diprima, 'Instabilities in Transitions in
Flow Between Concentric Rotating Cylindes," 4 p.m., 219 W. Eng.
Archaeology-Eric Hostetter, "Figuritive Bronzes from the Graeco-
Etruscan Empprium of Spina," 8 p.m., Rm. 203, Tappan Hall.
CONFERENCES
ILIR-"Planning Program on Sexual Harassment," League.
PIRGIM-"Making a Stand" draft questions raised, 7:30 p.m., Conf.
;Rm. 4, Union
b MEETINGS
Dharma Study Group-meditation, 7:30-8:30, 215 E. Kingsley.
Michigan Journal of Economics, 4 p.m., Rm. 301, Econ. Bldg.
By CLAUDIA CENTOMINI
Wearing beaded costumes and
feathered headdresses, Native
Americans performed their
forefathers' traditional dances and
chants yesterday at Huron High School.
Approximately 350 Native Americans
from all over North America are
celebrating the third annual Ann Arbor
Pow Wow this weekend. The pow wow
features Native American dances, food,
beadwork, and jewelry. Booths of
authentic crafts lined the high school
gym.
The Ann Arbor festival is the largest
pow wow held in the country, said
Dorothy Goeman, organizer of the
event and an associate in the University
Minority Student Services office. The
pow wow is held "to let the public know
what (the Native Americans) are really
like," Goeman explained.
GOEMAN ALSO said the festival is a
good way to recruit prospective studen-
ts to the University because the pow
wow attracts many types of people
from all over the United States and
Canada.
Jose Marcus, a Native American-
from Pueblo, New Mexico said, "I
came to the pow wow to be with my
people and enjoy myself." Marcus said
he attended pow wows in other places in
North America during the summer but
he described Ann Arbor's as one of the
most distinctive.
MARCUS WAS joined by Native
Americans from South Dakota,
Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, New
Mexico, and Canada. Participants
represented the many North American
tribes, including the Winnebago, Chip-
pewa, Seneca, Mohawk, Ottawa, and
Ottowatamis. People of all ages par-
ticipated in the dancing, singing, and
other festivities.
The pow wow was sponsored jointly
by University Office of Minority
Student Services, the Native American
Student Association, and the Ann Arbor
Indian Center. The money made from
the admission fee, food, and tradework
sales will be used to help Native
American organizations, Goeman said.
..4
f Om' 4pkVER(SITY MUSICAL'C8OIE7Y presenos
5
SbErI-fns
Buttiii
U.S. Olympic delegates
affirm Moscow boycott
(Continued from Page 1)
national interest and national security
is no longer threatened, the USOC will
enter its athletes.",
THE DECISION ends three months of
uncertainty over the boycott issue,
which was first proposed by Carter Jan.
20.
The administration had stepped up its
pro-boycott campaign the past week.
Six hours before Saturday's vote, Vice
President Walter Mondale delivered a
final adminsitrationappeal that U.S.
athletes stay home.
IN HIS HALF hour address to the
delegates, he said, "Athletes and sports
organizations and national bodies
around the world await your lead to
mobilize their commitment.
"They do so for good reason. Today,
virtually every industrial nation on ear-
th is dangerously dependent on Persian
Gulf oil. How could we convince the
Soviets not to threaten the Gulf, if a
blow was dealt to our deterrent? How
coud our government send a message to
Moscow, if tomorrow's Pravda brags
are asking of sports officials . . . on
behalf of the president of the United
States I assure you that our nation will
do everything within its power to .. .
recognize the true heroism of the
athletes who do not go to Moscow."
AFTER MONDALE spoke, the
delegates went into a closed-door
session, then adjourned for lunch
before taking the vote on the boycott
question.
USOC officials had been hoping for a
quick vote on the boycott, but as the
meeting started, disputes began over
who could vote and other procedural
questions.
Carter has been seeking a broad
boycott of the Games and several coun-
tries have made it clear that they want
to see what the USOC does 1 afore
deciding their own course.
His fame has spread rapidly to every corner of the globe since his Metropolitan
debut fifteen years ago. This "All-American Superstar," as he is known inter-
nationally, has a notable record of leading roles in the world's greatest opera
houses.
Tickets available: $4, 6, 7, 8.50, 10, 12
TICKETS at Burton Tower, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Weekdays 9-4:30,
Sat. 9-12. Phone 665-3717. Tickets also available at Hill Auditorium 12 hours
before performance time.
1_1)iits 101st- eason
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dop- in
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the UofM. BLACK STUDENT UN/ON PRESENTS
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