4
OPINION
Page 4
M
Wednesday, January 6, 1982
The Michigan Daily
- --
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Weasel
Vol. XCII, No. 78
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
Clark: a dangerously
incompetent appointee
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u By Robert Lence
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AK~uAy.
R ICHARD Allen was a political
liability of such proportions to the
Reagan administration that he could
no longer be kept on as National
Security Advisor. The job was ob-
viously too important to be held by a
man who mismanaged his affairs as
did Allen.
So President Reagan sifted through
his files and found a replacement:,
Deputy Secretary of State William
Clark, who is so ill-suited for the job
that it only proves the Reagan ad-
ministration's inability to understand
the importance of a sound foreign
policy.
Clark will undoubtedly join the likes
of Secretary of Labor Raymond
Donovan and Secretary of the Interior
James Watt as another in the long list
of infamously bad Reagan political ap-
pointees.
When he appeared at his Senate con-
firmation hearing a year ago, Clark
was unable to answer even the most
basic foreign policy questions. Neither
could he name the leaders of South
Africa or Zimbabwe, nor could he
describe or name the new political
alliance in England. As the Dutch
newspaper De Volkskrant said, Clark
is a "nitwit." When he was confirmed
it was thought that he would remain a
Deputy Secretary under the direct
guidance of Secretary of State Alexan-
der Haig.
But now Clark, because of a previous
appointee's embarrassing past, is to
serve as one of the nation's chief
foreign policy architects. His ascend
dency should stun most concerned
Americans. Clark will, in the words of
a White House press statement, "be
responsible for the development, coor-
dination, and implementation of
national security policy, as approved
by the-President."
The United States will now have a
man who is admittedly devoid of
knowledge in the field of foreign affairs
briefing the President on current
crucial international situations.
In addition to his lack of
qualifications for the national security
post, Clark also falls short of normal
standards for a national political
leader. Clark never finished his un-
dergraduate education. After twice
failing his bar exam Clark finally was
launched into the world of politics
through his close association with the
then Governor of California Ronald
Reagan. In 1969 Reagan appointed
Clark to serve as a judge on the
California Court of Appeals, and in 1973
Reagan appointed Clark to the state
supreme court.
It is in the end ironic that the White
House should chose to upgrade the im-
portance of the National Security Ad-
visor's job at a time when the post will
be filled, by a man with so little
knowledge of the field. At least"
Richard Allen, despite his inability to
keep his record clean, understood
something of the implications of
American foreign policy and was com-
petent enough to be trusted to advise
the president in matters of importan-
ce.
UA Wv.Jp n new battle for unionization.
A significant confrontation is
developing between Japanese,
automobile companies and the
United Auto Workers as the
Japanese begin building
American assembly plants to
forestall protectionist measures
against imported cars.
In effect, the Japanese prefer
to do without unions-company
unions excepted. Their preferen-
ce is intensified by labor prac-
tices they are used rtorat
home-above all the exchange of
lifetime employment for total
worker loyalty and flexibility.
THEY SEEM unwilling or
unable to offer the same ex-
change in the United States, and
the result . is likely to be
American-style conflict between
labor and management as the
number of employees at any
Japanese plant grows beyond the
100 to 300 workers that typifies
them now.
Ultimately, suggested
Yasunori Fujii of the Japan Ex-
tenla Trade Organization's
(JETRO) San Francisco office,
Japanese firms may haveto
abandon their vaunted
management style for a more
callous approach.
The nature of the pending con-
flict is most apparent as a $500
million light truck plant, intended
to employ 2,600, that Nissan
Motors is building in Smyrna,
Tenn. The largest Japanese in-
vestment in the United States to
date, it also may turn out to -be
the most contentious.
NISSAN HAS begun hiring
workers but, the UAW charges,
does not want anybody who ever
has belonged to a union. James
Clark, an organizer at UAW
leadquarters in Detroit, said his
company may file a complaint
with the National Labor
Relations Board over Nissan's
employment policy.
Nissan's general in the battle is
a former Ford executive named
By Mark Blackburn
Marvin Runyon, who is president
of Nissan Motor Manufacturing
Co., U.S.A., the Japanese firm's
American subsidiary. "A lot of
avenues of communication are
just not open when you have a
union shop," a spokeswoman for
Runyon quoted him as saying.
"You can't build a quality
product with an adversary
relationship between union and
management."
In addition to its struggle with
Nissan, the UAW is fighting to
organize a, Honda motorcycle
plant near Columbus, Ohio.
Frustrated in its efforts so far,
the UAW already has complained
to the NLRB that'Honda is being
obstructionist.
HONDA WORKERS wear
white lab coats without insignia,
and the UAW says Honda preven-
ts them from wearing a UAW cap
or badge to indicate support for
the union in contravention of
common U.S. labor practice.
Hondo also plans to build a
plant to make Accord
automobiles nearby and the
UAW's organizing chances there
could be affected by what hap-
pens at the motorcycle facility.
But the Tennessee battle with
Nissan seems likely to be more
decisive in determining just how
far Japanese companies can go
in efforts to keep their plants non-
union.
Labor obsevers speculate that
the underlying strategy em-
bodied by Nissan's plans in the
South is to locate in areas of the
United States where unions have
been traditionally weak. One
result, they predict, could be
lower wages that would help the
Japanese compete with their
American rivals-on American
soil-even more effectively than
they do now.,
would undercut the
position of the -UAW
elsewhere, and possibly other
large American unions as well.
A recent study by JETRO in-
dicates that 140 Japanese
manufacturers presently employ
44,000 Am'ericans at 240 plan-
ts-fewer than 200 at each
location, on average. Of the 140
firms, only 33, or about one in
four, have been unionized.
From the Japanese perspec-
tive, according to JETRO's
Yasonori Fujii, American unions
are a source of concern because
they do not foster loyalty to the
corpany. "In Japan the labor
union is usually orgahized within
the company," he said. "In the
United States the situation is
completely different." This is one
reason why Japanese firms are
leery of investing in this country,
he added.
THE QUESTION of loyalty
drew a bitter response from
Clark of the UAW, who said the
Japanese bring in a worker's
family for orientation sessions in
an effort to develop total
dedication to the company both at.
work and at home. Simply to ask
for a labor contract spelling out
wages and conditions, he added,
"could be regarded as an act of
disloyalty."
"They want to pay less wages
and they are not prepared to take
care of an employee for the rest
of his life," Clark said.
Clark also is critical of the
Japanese practice of sending key
American workers to Japan-'for
exposure to methods used by the
parent company. Nissan, for
example, recently sent 16 lead
maintenance technicians to
spend nine weeks at one of its
plants in Japan. The Nissan
U.S.A. spokeswoman, Sue Atkin-
son, said the purpose of the trip
was training.
"IT'S A MATTER of indoc-
trination," countered Clark.
On their part, the Japanese
complain that unlike Japanese
workers, Americans lack the .
flexibility to move from job to job
as needed and make no
suggestions for improving the'
way a job is done. "They are very
reluctant,'" said Fujii. "In the
United States no proposals come
.from the bottom."
"And they don't want a job
rotation system," he added. "In
the U.S. almost all workers
prefer to be promoted according'
to' their ability at one job. Their
principal interest is in a higher
salary."
SOME COMPANIES, however,'
have persuaded their workers to
compromise on these issues 0
Employees at a Toyota parts
depot in Los Angeles have
agreed to flexible work rules, ac-
cording to Prof. William Ouchi of
the University of California at
Los Angeles. Ouchi attributes
xtheir agreement to skillful
managenet and to the fact that
the workers belong to the Team-
sters rather than the UAW.
At a Sanyo refrigeration plant
in San Diego recently organized
by the Communication Workers
of America, management ap-
pears to be continuing the battle
against the union by bypassing it.
According to labor relations
manager John Kuhl, Sanyo wants
to avoid formal union grievance
procedures and arrive at what he
called "peaceful coexistence" by
dealing with employee problems
"informally."
"If the system works, and
works well, hopefully it could be a
model," he said.
Blackburn is a regular con-
tributor to the Far Eastern
Economic Review. He wrote.,'
this article for Pacific News'
Service.
Victoryin Arkansas
FEDERAL judge in Arkansas
yesterday struck down that state's
creationism law. The judge's decision
represents a significant victory for the
protection of the civil liberties of the
state's school children.
The law required that the teaching of
creationism-the theological belief
that a supernatural being created the
earth suddenly-be given balanced
treatment with the teaching of
evolution-the scientific theory that
humankind and the world developed
slowly over millions of years.
Proponents of the law had argued
that creationism is simply another
belief of where human life originated.
However, U.S. District Judge William
Overton wisely pointed out that the law
was "an effort to introduce the biblical
version of creation into the public
school curricula" thereby violating the
constitutional guarantee of separation
of church and state.
The theory of creationism is founded
on religious belief. Evolution, while it
is only a theory, is based on scientific
fact. While any student may choose to
believe what he or she desires, only one
theory-the scientific one-should be
taught in a science classroom.
Teaching "creation science," indeed,
would be an attempt to pass the
religious belief of Genesis off as scien-
ce.
The attempt in Arkansas clearly
violated the civil liberties of all school
children. Judge Overton wisely has
upheld the constitution by striking
down the law.
IN THE
PROCESS,
they
LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
Questions Union renovation
To the Daily:
As. a frequent patron of the
University Cellar, I would be
greatly disappointed to see the
student discount bookstore forced
to leave the Michigan Union due
to the 65 percent rent increase
and $400,000 unwarranted con-
struction costs being imposed by
the Michigan Union Director, Mr.
Cianciola and others in the
University of Michigan Office of
Student Services. Their
renovation plans make me won-
der which will be-served best: the
interests of the students, faculty,
and staff or the 'interests of
profiteers.
Just what is the prime
motivation behind this plan? Was
it originally sparked by the
prospect of filling the vacancy
that will open up when the Alum-
ni offices move into their new
building? Did the project then
blossom into its current dimen-
sions simply (and simple-min-
dedly) as a creation of some
University bureaucrats who
sought to make their boring jobs
more interesting (whence the,
reference to the project as a
rejuvenation)?
Most importantly, to what ex-
tent have the student populace
and its leaders been consulted? I
fear that a potentially great
disservice and'injustice is being
a
I rationale
dealt to the University Com
munity. I suggest that a proposal
be made whereby the UniversityZ
Cellar Board of Directors (which>
for ten years, has struggled to.:
serve the best interests of our1
community) be renamed as.the -
Michigan Union Board of Direc
tors, thereby abolishing the office:
of the Michigan Union Director,
This, as Mr. Cianciola probably:
will agree, would add an element
of democracy to the decision=
making process. Moreover;:
the Union would once again be a
fitting name for the building.
-K. Patrick Sullivan
December 9
predictable
downtown eating and drinking
spots were fire traps. I have
never seen such conditions
anywhere else. Once, I was in a
popular night club, and
visualizing myself as one of 300
corpses piling up at the single
Legal clinic in danger
------------_ .__.. C f-CAFFI4E$ ----------- -----
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[ E 1Y~f 1tl ft it
q AX~hILL
To the Daily:
All is not well inside the ivory
towers of the University of
Michigan Law School. The Clinic
program, where students get
legal experience handling real
cases for clients that cannot af-
ford lawyers, is in grave danger
of elimination. Pleading poverty
(have you seen our new $10
million library?), the powers-
that-be are preparing to axe this
vailuable nrogram.-
On the contrary, the reason for
elimination of the clinic is much
more- suspect. The program is
nearly the only example of public
interest, socially responsible law
in the school's curriculum.
The remarks of Dean Terrance
Sandalow, at a forum on clinic's
future, are- revealing. He stated
that the law school fulfilled its
obligation to society through
legal training and research, that
Econ.
To the Daily:
The Economics Building was a
fire waiting-to ignite. Not just for
its age, but for its mode of con-
struction, it gave me the creeps. I
always sat nearest the exit. I;
thought the University was out of
fire