Page 2 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 2, 1984 Cable company plans to strike By SHARON SILBAR Unless workers and management at Ann Arbor Cablevisin come to an agreement by midnight February 6, workers will go on strike, a spokesman said yesterday. By a 16 to 2 vote taken late Tuesday night, employees agreed to strike unless a settlement is reached. Ann Ar- bor Cablevision employees are represented by the Communications Workers of America, the same union which represents Michigan Bell. ONLY NEW subscribers and current customers who desire a change in ser- vice would be affected by a strike. Transmission of the cable signal would remain the same, said Sharon Wilson, general manager of Ann Arbor Cablevision. Wilson said yesterday that if workers strike, "business would continue as usual." Management would fill in until replacements could be hired and trained. Whether or not workers strike, however, the price of being a sub- scriber will increase $1.45 a month, ef- fective March 1. - WILSON SAID the management has made its final offer to the workers. Negotiations began in October. John Liberman, the union's represen- tative at Ann Arbor Cablevision, said he was critical of the way management has treated employees, and said they were trying to "bust" the union.. "There are no more negotiation sessions. 'Take it or leave it' is their at- titude," Liberman said. THE TWO sides still have about 20 items to agree on, Liberman said. The most crucial issues, he said, are management's request for concessions in sick pay, reductions in insdrance coverage, reductions in vacation time, and a three-year wage freeze. Another item of contention between labor and management is a clause in the proposed contract calling for an open shop where not all workers in the union. Currently, Ann Arbor Cablevision has a closed shop, which uses all union labor. Liberman said he fears that if they switch to an open shop, union workers would be replaced with non-union ones and attrition would weaken the union's bargaining power. LIBERMAN said he is dissatisfied with management's effort in negotiating the issues., "They haven't accepted a single point," Liberman said. "Negotiation is a euphemism at this point ... They've never even shown us a complete con- tract." Liberman said if the group strikes, they probably could not go long without wages, "I DON'T think we could survive too long, but it's something we've got to make an attempt at," he said. The union called in a federal labor mediator, but according to Liberman, she was unable to get concessions from the company. Ann Arbor Cablevision is owned by a private group of investors in Denver, Colo., who originally purchased the company as a tax shelter. The par- ticular kind of investment the Denver firm made allows write-offs and deduc- tions for five years. Now they can no longer receive substantial tax benefits from running Ann Arbor Cablevision, Liberman explained. For this reason, they are cutting back on wages and benefits to employees. Rose prices blossom for Valentine's Day From the Associated Press Cupid's victims will have to shell out up to $100 for a dozen roses for their sweethearts this Valentine's Day, -thanks in part to the winter's record cold. But in some places they can still get a nice bouquet for less than half Ghat. The price of roses takes a jump at florist shops just before Feb. 14, the holiday for lovers, but the increase will 'e even greater in some cities this year, because of higher costs of heating -greenhouses. Prof ass (Continued from Page 1) aid that the Jewish population in America is declining at a steady rate. :Jews now make up.only 2.4 percent of the American population, down from 3.7 percent fifty years ago. Rockaway said the decline could be -attributed to the extremely low birth rate of the American Jew, adding that the American lifestyle, the career HOWEVER, florists in the Southeast and elsewhere who get their roses from Colombia, which was not affected by the cold, foresee little increase in prices. In fact, one Georgia wholesaler said he is charging about 10 percent less this year. A random survey of a few of the 30,000 florist shops around the country showed the price of a dozen long-stemmed roses ranged from $36 in Macon, Ga., to $100 in some Manhattan shops. Prices will 'vary even at the same store, depending on whether the flowers are delivered and how they are arranged and packaged. Whatever the price, most florists don't expect to have much ttpuble unloading their roses. "VALENTINE'S day is just wild, just crazy," said Jimmy Tokunaga, a co- owner of Shannon Greenhouses in Columbia, S.C., where roses are selling for $50 to $60 a dozen. Several florists said there is always a jump in the price this time of year. "We think it's ridiculous to charge what we have to charge for roses," said Roger Patton, advertising manager for The Blossom Shop in Columbia, where roses were going for $50 a dozen. "I'D RATHER sell anything but roses," he said. "What you'd'pay for a dozen roses you could offer a magnificent bouquet of spring flowers, such as tulips, irises or lilies. Economic times are good, but $50 is still $50." In Nashville, Tenn., one florist said she will charge $67.50 a dozen this Valentine's compared with $47.50 last year, but the price will drop to $37.50 af- ter the holiday. In Chicago, where florists said the cost of a dozen roses could go as high as $70 to $80 this year, compared with $70 to $75 last year, Crystal Frauen at Quasthoff's Flowers Inc. said the cold - it was 25 below zero at Christmas - was hurting deliveries because the flowers can die before they get to the homes. esses American Jews woman, and high divorce rates are all contributing factors. INTERMARRIAGE with non-Jews, which is as high as 50 percent in some places, also has had some bearing on the decline, Rockaway said. Fewer Jews are participating in "Jewish" activities, Rockaway said, and there has been a steady decline in Jewish school .attendance. This declining participation has resulted in the loss of the American Jew's identity, he added. Rockaway, who is vacationing in the United States during a break at Tel Aviv University, spoke here to make American students more aware of educational programs available in Israel. Technology's Leading Edge Be a science or engineering of- ficer in the Air Force. If you have a science or engineering degree, maybe you can qualify to join our dynamic team. See, an Air Force recruiter today, Call SSgt. Patrick T. Cannon or TSgt. Larry R. Gardepy at 994-0522. A great way of life. Jumping suspect nabbed Police arrested a 20-year-old Ann Ar- bor man on breaking and entering charges yesterday, after he attempted to escape by jumping out of the second- floor window of a residence on the 800 block of S. Maple. Fred Blackman allegedly stole a stereo And cash valued at about $2,900 last July from a residence on the 3300 block of Tacoma Circle. Police said he gained entry by forcing a window open. Blackman, who was arraigned yesterday morning, is being held at the Washtenaw County Jail pending his examination Feb. 8. His bond is set at $25,000. -Nancy Gottesman in 40 I IN BRIEF Compiled from Associated Press and United Press international reports Democrats denounce Reagan budget as election-year stunt WASHINGTON - The $925.5 billion budget President Reagan sent to Congress yesterday mirrors his goals for the nation: to increase its military strength and to do it without the pain of raising taxes. But the plan is bur- dened with a projected $180.4 billion deficit. House GOP leader Robert Michel called it a "no phoney baloney budget," but Democrats denounced it as a do-nothing, election-year iplan that would increase the national debt by a staggering $800 billion over the neKt five years, even if all of Reagan's spending and tax proposals were enacted. Reagan asked for a 13 percent "real" increase, after adjustment for in- flation, in military spending that would make it the largest defense budget since World War IA surpassing even the peak of the Korean or Vietnam wars if measured in constant dollars. Without accounting for inflation, it is an 18 percent hike. Assad citicizes U.S. role in Beirut BEIRUT, Lebanon - Shiite Moslem militiamen killed two Lebanese army soldiers in a firefight yesterday, and Syrian President Hafez Assad criticized American military involvement in Lebanon. Walid Jumblatt, the Syrian-backed Druse leader, said that a new round of full-scale civil warfare was "inescapable" in Lebanon. A Lebanese army spokesman said a lieutenant and a sergeant were killed as government troops and Shiite fighters battled with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades in south Beirut's St. Michael and Chiyah neigh- borhoods shortly before midday. The clash took place about 500 yards from the U.S. Marine encampment at Beirut airport, but Marine spokesmen said the base was not hit. A Marine was killed Monday in battles with Shiite militiamen. Syria's official news agency, SANA, said Assad met with Australian Foreign Minister till Hayden in Damascus and told him: "We have tried to talk to the Americans frankly and seriously in order to reach logical and-ac- ceptable solutions, but we found their concepts and demands always con- tradicting our national and pan-Arab interjests." "We also found out that President Reagan is more concerned with the weight of guns than with the weight of principles," Assad was quoted as telling Hayden. Democrats undermine Midmeast peace process,Reagan aide says WASHINGTON - The president's spokesman accused congressional Democrats yesterday of "playing politics" and making a peace settlement more difficult to achieve by pushing for withdrawal of U.S. troops .from Lebanon. Deputy press secretary Larry Speakes leveled the charge as House Democrats began debating their leadership's decision to press a resolution calling for the "prompt and orderly" pullout of Marine peace-keepers from Beirut. Speakes warned that any move to call the troops - numbering about 1,500 - home "could encourage intransigence on the part of the Syrians and clearly undermine the peace process in the Middle East." "Statements that indicate a lack of solidarity in the U.S. can encourage the Syrians to-dig in and hold on," he said. And as House Democrats discussed the withdrawal resolution in a closed meeting, Speaker Thomas O'Neill leveled another blast at Reagan's policies. U.S. factory orders up this year WASHINGTON - Orders to U.S. factories for manufactured goods rose a strong 10.6 percent in 1983, the biggest jump in four years, and government and private economists said yesterday that most signs point to continued ex- pansion this year. And in another indication of the strength of the rebound in the housing market, the government said construction spending increased 14 percent in 1983 with robust home building compensating for a weak showing in other segments of the building industry. The Commerce Department said factory orders for 1983 totaled $2.09 trillion, a 10.6 percent improvement over 1982, when the recession cut severely into ind'ustrial performance. The 1983 increase was the biggest sin- ce a 12 percent jump in 1979. For December, factory orders were up 1 percent to $187.2 billion, an in- crease of $1.8 billion over November's level of orders. The best news in the report came in a 2.2 percent increase in orders for nondefense capital goods - a major indicator of business investment in new plants and equipment. U.S. force to stay in Honduras WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger said yesterday that the Pentagon plans to keep a "permanent" force of "somewhere around 700 or 800" soldiers in Honduras after the current series of military exercises ends in that Central American nation. It was the first time the Pentagon had publicly confirmed reports that a sizable contingent of U.S. soldiers will remain in Honduras when the joint U.S.-Honduran exercises known as Big Pine II finish later this month. U.S. troops may take part in another round of exercises starting in June. k In a related development, a still-unpublished House report criticized the Pentagon for building military installations in Honduras without obtaining congressional approval. The report said the extent of U.S. construction work suggests a "semi-permanent" American presence. Weinbergernoted that more exercises might be scheduled later if Hon- duras, a'strong U.S. ally, invites the Pentagon to participate. COME HOME TO THE DAILY AND A FREE PIZZA FROM SNAPPY'S! Subscribe to IF and receive a FREE PIZZA from SNAPPY'S! A $5.00 value FREE with your new Subscription! beIi Mitrtgan Iag Vol. XCI V-No. 102 Thursday, February 2, 1984 (ISSN 0745-967X) The Michigan Daily is edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan. Published daily Tuesday through Sunday mornings during the University year at 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109. Sub- scription rates: $15.50 September through April (2 semesters); $19.50 by mail outside Ann Arbor. Summer session published Tuesday through Satur- day mornings. Subscription rates: $8 in Ann Arbor; $10 by mail outside Ann Arbor. Second class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Michigan. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE MICHIGAN DAILY, 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. The Michigan Daily is a member of the Associated Press and subscribes to United Press International, Pacific News Service, Los Angeles Times Syn- dicate and Field Enterprises Newspaper Syndicate. News room (313) 764-0552, 76-DAILY; Sports desk, 763-0376; Circulation, 764-0558; Classified Advertising, 764-0557; Display Advertising, 764-0554; Billing, 764-0550. Harrison, Paul Helgren, Steve Hunter, Tom Keaney, Editor-in-Chief .......... BILL SPINDLE Ted Lerner, Doug Levy. Tim Makinen, Adam Martin, Managing Editor.....BARBARA MISLE Mike McGraw, Scott McKinley, Barb McQuade, Lisa News Editor....................... JIM SPARKS Nofen, Phil Nussell. Rob Pollard, Mike Redstone, Scott Student Affairs Editor.........CHERYL BAACKE Solowich, Paula Schipper, Randy Schwartz, Rich Opinion Page Editors............... JAMES BOYD Weid is, Steve Wise, Andrea Wolf. JACKIE YOUNG Arts/Magazine Editor............. MARE HODGES Business Manager............... .STEVE BLOO1 Associate Arts Editor............ STEVEN SUSSER Sales Manager.............. DEBBIE DIOGUAR I1 Chief Photographer............ DOUG MCMAHON Operations Manager............ KELLY DOLAN NEWS STAFF: Susan Angel. Sue Barto. Neil Chase. Classified Manager .........MARGARET PALMER i nurie Deater Andrew Friksen Marcv Fleisher. Display Manager,................,..PETE LIPSON