OPINION . - - __ a ,. Page 4 Thursday, March 17, 1983 The Michigan Daily- RHA eats soup on Campbell's By David Monks Having spent the last five weeks at- tempting to get the Residence Hall Association to'endorse the Farm Labor Organizing Committee's boycott again- st Campbell's Soup Company, I can safely say that the association lacks overall credibility in representing University housing residents. Judging from the actions and attitudes of the group's top officers and the overall apathy of the organization's other mem- bers, I strongly question whether the RHA will ever be able to act decisively and responsibly on any issue of social importance. In northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan, migrant farmworkers are forced to work and live in conditions that threaten their health and welfare. The infant mortality rate among migrant farmworkers' children is twice the national average, the work-related injury rate is three times the average, and the life expectancy of an average worker is 49 years - over 20 years below average. MOST MIGRANT families are forced to live in one room shacks with no in- door plumbing. Often, water supplies are contaminated by pesticide run-off. These farmworkers are excluded from all minimum wage laws and we paid a piece rate to pick tomatoes which tran- slates into about $2.00 an hour. Because workers are paid by how much they pick, all hands are needed in the field. This forces children as young as five years old to work in the fields. As a result, children of migrants often do not receive adequate educations. These migrants are hired seasonally by independent growers to harvest the annual tomato crop. In turn, these in- dividual growers are contracted by major canneries such as Campbell's. A4 p4 , 000op r r w J/J /f r ,/9 In February, the FLOC pres boycott proposal to the associa provided all representgtiv literature explaining both isd issue. The association decide ted to hear from a Ca spokesperson as well. Thec agreed to speak with the assoc but only on the conditions tht not debate any FLOC supporte there were any supporters meeting, the company would h credibly, the association ag Campbell's demands. At the RHA meeting March 2 Rombach, Campbell's top c relations executive, presen company's view of the issu McGuiness (another FLOC su and I were asked to leave this by both RHA President BrianI and Secretary Linda Sokolowsk IN ASKING US to leave ther "misunderstanding," as RI President Pam McKann said tions of both officers were violation of Michigan's OpenP Act. The FLOC asked to be plac association's March 9 ag respond to Rombach's comm addition, the FLOC asked U Professor John Vandermeer to the association and answ questions the representativ Vandermeer is an establisheda and has written a book on th industry. Due to the personal v Woollery, the FLOC and Van were dumped from the March 9 Woollery alone decided for t association that representat enough information to make a decision on the boycott. Woollery's actions are appa hypocritical considering he asked FLOC supporters to h 40K boycott ented the March 2 meeting. Also, after spring ation and break, at least one or two represep- es with tatives were replaced with new student es of the ts who were not familiar with the d it wan- boycott issue. How could these news mpbell's representatives possibly vote fairly n; company the issue when they had heard only onie ciation - side of the debate? it would McKann's attitude was equally, rs and, if irresponsible. At the March _0: at the meeting, acting as president in-° eave. In- Woollery's absence, she attempted to greed to place a time limit on the boycot discussion, as well as trying to liniit , C. Scott discussion to association represen-: corporate tatives only - knowing that FLOC sup-. nted the porters in the audience would questionr ie. Hugh Vandermeer's removal from the agen- upporter) da. It was not until I interrupted meeting McKann that the question of Vander- Woollery meer's removal was discussed. Even ki. though many representatives said they re was no were not adequately informed, the HA Vice association still voted against hearing . The ac- from the FLOC and Vandermeer for- a clear further input on the boycott. Meetings The FLOC was clearly a victim of the biases of the association's top officers. ed on the And it is painfully obvious that most enda to representatives did not even take the a, nents. In time to read or research any. of the niversity FLOC's literature. o address In the future, I hope the association ver any and its officers will act more maturely ves had. and credibly when serious issues suci authority as the Campbell's boycott are e tomato discussed. Migrant farmworkers have been subject to social, political, and iews of racial discrimination for decades and ndermeer their plight deserves better than the 9 agenda. recent unfair, irresponsible, and biased he entire actions of the Residence Hall ives had Association officers and represen- rational tatives. _ _ Monks, an LSA sophomore, is a lling and member of the Ann Arbor Farm illegally Labor Organizing Committee Sup- eave the port Group. Farmworkers originally banded together in 1968 and formed the Farm Labor Organizing Committee with the hope of winning better working con- ditions and higher wages. The group won over 30 contracts with individual growers. However, the union realized that these growers were locked into contracts with major canneries which controlled almost every aspect of the tomato industry from the grower to the farmworker. Letting these contracts expire in 1972, the union spent the next several years reorganizing. In 1978, FLOC members went on strike and an- nounced a boycott against all Cam- pbell's and Libby's products. THE UNION recognized that these corporations were responsible for the wages and living conditions of migran- ts. Campbell's and other canneries have consistently stated that they are not responsible for wages of migrants nor are they their employers. But the "controlling" effect of canneries was clearly documented by a 1980 Ohio State Senate investigation of Ohio's migrants, which states: "They (the processors) control the profits the far- mer can expect and also, directly or in- directly, the migrants earnings." Campbell's was chosen as the prime target of the boycott because it is the nation's leader in the canning industry. History will show, as in the case of the United Auto Workers, that when a labor precedent is set by the industry leader, other competitors will usually fall into line. In its effort to promote the Cam- pbell's boycott, the Ann Arbor FLOC support group approached the Resident Hall Association in an attempt to have Campbell's products removed from University housing. Last year the association endorsed a boycott of Nestle products to protest that com- pany's questionable marketing prac- tices of its infant formula. THE FLOC believed that most University housing residents, once in- formed on the issue, would support it in its efforts for social improvement. Un- fortunately, the association's actions over the past month indicate that most of its members are no longer interested in using the RHA to promote social im- provement, nor in giving interest groups on campus adequate time to present their case. die ndMst dets atnivt oan Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Wasserman I Vol. XCIII, No. 130 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 OUR TeCWNCAL 1NDE W 1T LOCK~S LIKE W~E'RE Poist- \! FOR A Ly 111 THE WEEK STARTED OF SOGiY With LOWS OVER THE M UNICIPALS r T IH. FUfRES WeJL OKNG RGHE y]ou A& W P' NT To KiD6E yIouR o~ N %1701 WThkE. AN4 UMBRgELLA JZUST iN CASE 0 0 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board Domestic H OW OFTEN partisan squabbling threatens pieces of desperately needed legislation. It's happening again in the Senate, this time en- dangering both the multi-billion dollar jobs program and the Social Security reform bill. Once again, the ones most harmed by the bickering are those that would benefit from the legislation - the unemployed and the elderly. The jobs bill is being stalled by an amendment sponsored by Sen. Bob Kasten (R-Wis.) which calls for the repeal of tax withholdings on interest and dividend income. Kasten stubbor- nly has refused to drop the amendment and add it to another bill to allow the jobs package to get through the Senate. Another Republican, Kansas Sen. Bob Dole has threatened a fillibuster of the bill unless the Kasten amendment is removed. President Reagan has threatened to veto the whole thing. And Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill gleefully counts the political gains as the Republicans fight and the people that would get jobs as a result of the squabbling bill remain in unemployment lines. This ridiculous debate is also snarling Senate action on the Social Security reform measure which already has passed in the House. So not one, but two of the most important pieces of legislation Congress will con- sider this term are being stalled as some politicians fight and others gloat. Senate majority leader Howard Baker (R-Tenn.) has been the one politician to recognize that this is no time for petty politicking. He has tried to work out a compromise - the one Kasten rejected. "We owe thecountry an obligation to get on with these two pieces of legislation," Baker said. He's exactly right. The jobs bill would be a start at easing the immediate unemployment problem. And the Social Security bill potentially could help solve the benefit system's chronic long term problems. But neither can benefit anyone until the politicians in Washington start living up to their obligation to the people they represent. s ; IT'S NOT QUITE T E SAME~ WE IHeR SECVIC E TO 'TN\E PRIAPTE £Ec~toR.Qs o J U~ d I Recent developments in Washington suggest that the Reagan administration has made a sharp turn to the right, replacing the moderate tone of past months with aggressively conservative position statements that recall President Reagan's first year in office.. A new drive has been launched in Congress forhupscaled military assistance to El Salvador. There is a renewed emphasis on the evils of the Soviet Union in speeches by the president and other officials. Debate has resumed over such social issues as abortion and prayer in the schools. BEHIND the change "is the perception that the improvement in the economy will give the ad- ministration much more freedom of action," said A. Lawrence Chickering, director of the In- stitute for Contemporary Studies, a San Francisco-based think tank with close ties to the White House. "Two months ago there was a sense of imminent collapse in Washington, primarily due to economic setbacks. Today some economists are forecasting the biggest economic rebound in the postwar period for the next two years, and it is bound to have a political effect." But political analysts across the country - including the president's own pollster, accor- ding to informed sources - argue that a decision to move sharply to the right may be far from politically wise. On several key issues, they maintain, the president may be misjudging the extent of public support for con- servative initiatives: Reagan s shift right misses public mood By Frank Viviano '1 gp '±.A V.w. if:'7, ,;.: IT TWO ATp, OF OUR FAIRESTA TLQ \.Y NE~T4 Michigan's Institute for Social Research. "The Republicans would be crazy to go back and pursue the policies of 1981, especially on the matter of El Salvador, as they appear now to be considering," he continued. "It would be a serious misjudgment, in par- ticular if they attempt to increase the number of U.S. advisers there." (On March 8, President Reagan told an Orlando, Fla., audience that the current limit of 55 U.S. trainers in El Salvador may be doubled.) " Social issues also pose a problem for conservative strategists, according to Califor- nia pollster Mervyn Field. "The administration has consistently erred in its belief that the public shares its view on the Equal Rights Amendment, abortion, and a whole host of social issues," he said. "(Presidential pollster) Richard Werthlin has been showing the president data all along which proves that these issues are not viable. But the many voters back into the Democratic stronghold," ex- plained Miller. "One of the things we look at on a regular basis is how the public views the two par- ties on certain specific issues. We find that the old images are mud- dy now in all areas but one: Americans still feel that the Republican Party stands for big business and the rich, and that the Democrats are for the little guy." Added pollster Field: "Wer- thlin's people are getting it all of the time on 'fairness' in their daily polling. There is a growing feeling among Americans that the Reagan economic programs have . created an uneven distribution in pain - that the bottom third of the population is suffering disproportionately." " A Washington Post/ABC poll taken in early March found that Americans believe by a 2-to-1 margin that President Reagan would rather protect polluters than clean up the environment. That belief, say analysts, is despite tough times, there has, been very little give in the public" when it comes to relaxing stan- dards for environmental protec - tion," agreed Field. The administration's' willingness to accept the resignation of controversial EPA administrator Anne Burford, ,a staunch conservative, and to. support a jobs bill that echoes liberal social-spending policies, imply that public sentiments on: the environmentsand the fairness issue are having some effect,. Moreover, predicts Chickering, "I don't expect that the ad- ministration will do anything dramatic" to accelera a the en- tire packageaofeconservative initiatives. "There is a natural instinct for risk-aversion in the second half of a presidential term, and my guess is that clearly divisive matters such as the social issues will not be at the center of the spotlight." Nevertheless, Chickering and' other conservative analysts believe that the economic upturn- has, as one put it, "earned the: president some political capital, which is most likely to be spent or a tougher line on Central America." But even a limited conser- vative offensive now might back fire, said Miller, despite the im- proved economy. "In the Republican Party's best scenario - a recovery that keeps inflation low and the stock market high =': the question remains: 'Will the* public begin to listen again to those who advocate a vast defen se budget, more cuts in welfaret introducing prayer in the schools or making abortion illegal?' Based on the data, I'd say that'