4 OPINION Page 4 Wednesday, October 12, 1983 The Michigan Daily Unplugging the push to up utility rates By John Tayer In today's world of complex gover- nment and powerful big business it is becoming increasingly difficult for the individual consumer to protest effec- tively against corporate abuse of power. Naturally, the most effective way for consumers to fight big business is for them to band together and speak as one to bring about the change and reform. On no issue in Michigan is that more important than the battle between con- sumers and Consumers Power and Detroit Edison over utility rates. One statewide group that has so far successfully helped consumers in their battle against the utility corporations is the Michigan Citizens Lobby. The largest non-profit consumer organization in the state. FORMED IN 1973, MCL has already succeeded in a number of its efforts and boasts some fairly prodigious achievements. In their first success as an organization, MCL drafted and lobbied for the passage of the 1974 Auto Repair Act. This bill helps to prevent consumer ripoffs by dishonest auto repair ser- vicemen by giving consumers the right to a written estimate in advance of ser- vice, return of replaced parts, and a detailed statement of exactly what was done to their cars. But MCL's biggest battle and success was in favor of proposal D which for- bids all automatic rate increases and requires the Public Service Commision to review all utility costs in comprehen- sive rate cases. IN THEIR effort to get proposal D on the 1982 state ballot, MCL collected 323,000 petition signatures and then campaigned successfully for its passage despite a $6 million utility campaign against it. The fight to get utility rates under control is far from over. Specifically MCL is trying to thwart Consumers Power's and Detroit Edison's threatened 50% rate hike. The outlandish justification for this astronomical rate increase, according to the utility companies, is that the con- sumer should have to pick up the tab for the three new power plants being built by Consumer Power and Detroit Edison. MCL vehemently opposes this rate hike proposal on three accounts. First, the three plants, which were originally budgeted at a total cost of less than $1 billion, are now, because of gross mismpnagement and waste, priced at over $9 billion. MCL feels it is wrong that the consumer should be held ac- countable for this phenomenal cost overrun which will, if the rate hikes are approved, drain $1.6 billion annually for the next decade from Michigan families businesses, and industries. FOR THE University, recent utility price hikes have already amounted to an almost 100 percent increase in utility costs. According to figures MCL ob- tained from the University, last year's bill of $33 million was up from the r -'* - AL -4 " e're at the home of Jim and Mindy Marks, who are about to disco __er_-~~ that their utility bill has gone sky-high. Let's watch."A utility bills by moving its operation to Indiana. Recent figures show that Michigan industries are paying 90 per- cent more for utilities than the Midwest regional average. The implications of having GM and other industries move out of the state are disastrous - bankruptcy for the state being only one of the possibilities. MCL is fighting Consumers Power's and Detroit Edison's push to raise utility rates, seeing such a rate in- crease as against the best interest of the state and its citizens. The lobby's main weapon in the fight would be a 1984 ballot proposal that would give voters the chance to stop the utilites from making their customers pay for unnecessary construction, wasteful mismanagement, and cost overruns. The fight to get the proposal on the 1984 ballot is expected to be a tough one. Consumers Power and Detroit Edison will likely campaign even harder against this proposal than the 1982 proposal. In anticipation of strong resistance, MCL is already involved in a massive statewide petition drive to meet the July deadline. The war over utility rates has hardly begun. The Michigan Citizens Lobby is already leading the charge for the con- sumer. Tayer is a Daily staff writer and volunteer for the Michigan Citizens Lobby. I previous year's $17 million figure. The utility bill for the University is presen- tly 20% of the housing dues students living in dormitories pay. If the utility companies get the 50% rate hike that they're looking for, its easy to imagine what this will mean to housing costs. MCL's second complaint is that the generating plants, built without review or approval by the Public Service Commission, will produce power that isn't needed. Michigan utilities presen- tly have a 53-54 percent reserve energy capacity - way over the utility industry's recomendation of 15 percent reserve capacity. With the addition of the three new power plants this reserve capacity will rise to a staggering 83 percent for Consumers Power and .87 percent for Detroit Edison. Finally, in a state that isonly begin- ning to recover from the depths of economic recession, the threatened rate hike would devastate family budgets and discourage industrial ex- pansion. General Motors has said they could already save $100 million in _ _- . Cie ambt sa nigan Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vol. XCIV - No.31 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board Steamroller blues A BITTER CONGRATULATIONS to University administrators. Six years of trying to break the Graduate Employee Organization in court worked out pretty well for them after all. A little too well, even. Although the union, composed of graduate teaching and research assistants (TAs and SAs), received some significant concessions in its newly proposed agreement with the University, it is quite obvious which side controlled negotiations. GEO got only what the University wanted to give it. Today, GEO is a weak union. And the University has played a big role in making it that way. In 1975 GEO was on the verge of being a strong union. That year hun- dreds of striking TAs and SAs shut down half of LSA's classes. It had a strong, broad constituency. TAs and SAs were interested and involved. But the University refused to for- mally recognize the union and the dispute landed in court where the University had the distinct advantages of money, time, and representation. The University never achieved its goal of decertifyiing the union, but it did manage to drag the case out for six years before agreeing to negotiate with GEO in 1981. By that time, however, only a trace of GEO's potential remained. The organization had but 38 members. Instead of already having a strong constituency as it did in 1975, it had to build one. And while GEO was growing, members also had to worry about negotiating a new contract. The efforts to expand and at the same time focus the union's objectives proved too much for the organization. Internal bickering fractured it into two bitterly opposed factions. The resulting agreement with the Univer- sity was rejected by a vote of a small percentage of GEO members. By holding GEO in court and gran- ting only modest financial gains to TAs, the University crippled the union. But what administrators did not seem to realize until this year was that the strategy also damaged the Univer- sity's graduate student recruiting. While administrators have been preoccupied confronting the union, the quality of graduate students in some areas of the University has been slip- ping. The reasons for this slipping are numerous and complex, but a major University study of the problem leaves little doubt that a deficient graduate student employment program is part of the problem. The University's main concession - recognizing that tuition has a major impact on income - appears to be in direct response to the report. So now TAs find themselves without a strong union and without the representation that the University cut out from under their feet in 1976. And ironically, the University is now making its largest concessions to the union when it is weakest. The whole thing might have been avoided had the University not tried to bulldoze the union from the start. LETTERS: Volunteer success To the Daily: As president of the Michigan Student Assembly, I would like to clear up some misconceptions about our new volunteer coor- dinator position ("Volunteer for hire," Daily, October 9). First off, it is a common and accepted practice for a volunteer organization of this size to have paid support personnel. The Daily should be aware of this as it has paid support staff. The volunteer coordinator position which the Daily saw fit to criticize is a four month long ex- perimental position which I am confident will succeed. However, if one reads the proposal, she or he will notice that the position is to be evaluated thoroughly at the end of this four month period. This person performs a service for the assembly and the student body which could not otherwise be well provided. It is unrealistic to assume that an assembly member, a full time student, could have the skills and time which this position requires. A volunteer coordinator provides skills and abilities which aid the assembly members in coor- dinating the various committee activities, brings experienceand expertise about volunteer organizations to MSA, helps to retain volunteers by matching them with areas of their interest and where they are needed, and helps the volunteers themselves to be more effective by aiding in their goals and skills develop- ment. This is clearly a job which requires previous experience and expertise, and the ability to make a major time committment. While various members of the assembly have some of these skills, they are already busy with their various assembly functions. Certainly none of them have the time available as they are full time students with the added committment of the assembly. The volunteer coordinator is just one part of the effort to turn MSA into an efficient and effectual organization. This year's assem- bly has been making significant structural changes to improve MSA. For the first time the assembly has voted to require all of its . members to sit on an internal committee; in the past the assembly has been dependent upon just the most devoted mem- bers to do the bulk of the work while other members have seen fit to limit their participation to JCAIfDP& LaBan .C C>YF.R Gt 1' Now R INAND... fl campA r t1 prove. Rather than coming out at the end of the year with a surplus of money because it has done nothing, as has been the case in the past, MSA is attempting to use its resources, and use them wisely. I believe strongly that the volunteer coordinator is a wise use of MSA funds. I should note that thus far MSA has been very happy with the position and the other structural changes made. Finally, I appreciate. the Daily's recognition of the value of past researchers, but am disap- pointed that the Daily like the University administration, values research aboue service. MSA's primary concern is with the needs of the students, and it sees this service position as every bit as important as the research done in the past and will continue to do in the future voted to hire a University budget researcher for this term. I appreciate this opportunity to clear up any misconceptions about the new volunteer coor- dinator position and welcome those at the Daily to visit to learn more about the changes being implemented and the many projects MSA is working on. -Mary Rowland. October 11 Rowland is president of the Michigan Student Assembly. Troubling questions about flight 007 To the Daily: It has been six weeks since the senseless downing of Korean Airlines flight 007. The shock, disbelief, and anger is still being felt around the world. The search boats have now departed the icy waters of the Sea of Japan, leaving behind the memories of 269 innocent lives, the flight recorder box, and with it the an- swers to this mysterious travesty. I am quite sure, however, that President Reagan's "hardline" approach toward the Soviets has left them shaking in their boots, and no doubt drastically changing their behavior. They must have been stunned when we wouldn't allow Aeroflot to land for two weeks, while at the same time suspending talks on metric conversion. At least this horrible incident has enabled Reagan to kick back safely and watch the defense budget soar to greater BLOOM COUNTY and greater heights for more nuclear weapons to arm our- selves against the Soviets. However, while we're busy aiming our missiles at the Kremlin dining room, the real tragedy of flight 007 may still be unfolding. In a radio news broad- cast I heard several days ago, a CIA operative disclosed that there were indeed several dif- ferent types of sophisticated U.S. surveillance equipment aboard the plane. I never heard another mention of these facts on the radio again. The implications raised by this news left me horrified. Could it be the Soviets were telling the truth all along? Was flight 007 purposely flown off course on a spy mission? While I certainly don't condone the actions of the Soviet Union in this matter, the real tragedy of flight 007 would be to find out that an egregious error by the U.S. government and its intelligence community cost 269 innocent lives to be lost, and for what gain? -Teresa L. Hayes October 10 II Unsigned editorials appearing on the left side of this page represent a majority opinion of the- Daily's Editorial Board. Letters and columns represent the opinions of the individual author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the attitudes or beliefs of the Daily. 4 by Berke Breathed I# III ' jd w AEI I i _ .-- - I I I