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OPINION
Twenty years past due
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No veggie alternative
MI icer Roberts now scores well with fans
Ninety-nine years of editorial freedom
Vol.C, No. 82 Ann Arbor, Michigan -Tuesday, January30,1990 ,",yeghte
Nurses, hospital
ratify contract
BOWLING IS FUN!
by Joanna Broder
Daily Health Issues Reporter
Registered nurses at the Univer-
sity hospital voted late last week to
ratify a new contract which promises
the nurses benefits such as higher
salaries and hourly bonuses for over-
time work, ending approximately 10
months of negotiations.
Representatives from the Univer-
sity of Michigan Professional
Nurse's Council (UMPNC) and med-
ical center officials, negotiating on
behalf of the University's Board of
Regents, signed the contract yester-
day.
Spokesperson for the UMPNC
Deborah Stoll said the contract was
something the nurses could live with
for the next year and a half.
"Hopefully it will improve work-
ing conditions for nurses at the Uni-
versity," she said.
* Both parties reached a tentative
contract agreement on January 11,
with the aid of a court-appointed fact
finder. Contract negotiations have
been in the workings since last
March and the former nursing con-
tract expired on May 30, 1989.
Representatives from both sides then
agreed to extend their contract on a
week-to-week basis.
But nurses dissatisfied with the
way negotiations were going went
on strike July 19. The hospital
sought an injunction to bring the
nurses back to work, arguing that
the strike was affecting the hospi-
tal's ability to care for its patients.
Washtenaw County Circuit Judge
Melinda Morris granted the injunc-
tion and ordered fact finder Barry
Brown to hear evidence from both
sides and issue a report with recom-
mendations for a fair contract. Brown
issued his report in early December.
The new contract contains many
key provisions for the hospital's reg-
istered nurses:
EThe nurses will now receive a
ten percent pay raise which functions
retroactively to the end of May,
1989. Their pay will increase ten
percent more in June.
ENurses will also receive more
pay for overtime work, resolving
one of the key issues of the dispute.
Previously, nurses had no choice in
whether or not to work overtime.
Now in addition to the usual time
and a half pay, nurses will get five
dollars more per overtime hour until
June, at which point that bonus will
double. Stoll said the availability of
financial incentives would encourage
enough nurses to work extra hours
to compensate for those who do not
want to work overtime.
"With those types of bonuses in
effect, hopefully it will no longer be
necessary to mandate people to work
overtime. There should be sufficient
volunteers to cover the open hole in
the schedule," she said.
ENumerous work load review
committees will analyze the work-
load and nurse-to-patient ratios on
the different units. The review com-
mittees will make recommendations
during joint meetings with the direc-
tor of nursing.
See NURSES, page 2
City to
on abc
' zone'
by Josh Mitnick
Daily City Reporter
In an era when the abortion issue
has been thrown into state legisla-
tures, Ann Arbor voters may have a
chance to take some control of the
issue by making their city a "zone of
reproductive freedom."
City clerk spokesperson Herb
Katz said a petition to put the zone
proposal on the April 2 election bal-
lot garnered the required number of
signatures. The clerk's office made
the final determination on the num-
ber yesterday.
If approved, the referendum would
amend the city charter to protect
those seeking and giving abortions
in Ann Arbor in the event the state
passes legislation outlawing abor-
tion. The amendment - which is
patterned after the the city's contro-
versial pot law - would make abor-
tion punishable with a maximum
fine of $5.
The amendment is designed to
supersede any state law restricting
abortions by prosecuting infractions
under local ordinances.
A total of 3,723 signatures were
verified as belonging to city voters
- just three more than the required
3,720 signatures. The citizens group
that circulated the petition had sub-
mitted over 4,100 names last month.
I
1
vote
r tion
issue
The successful petition drive
made last night's City Council vote
on a resolution to place the same
referendum on the ballot irrelevant.
In that vote, a majority of coun-
cil Republicans rejected an appeal to
join in a symbolic support for the
referendum.
The council voted 6-5 in favor of
a resolution to place a referendum on
the ballot, falling one vote short of
the seven needed.
Supporters of the referendum ap-
pealed to council Republicans to
voice their unanimous support the
resolution, making the referendum a
bipartisan issue on the ballot.
Republican Mayor Jerry Jernigan
said he believed abortion is not a
partisan issue in Ann Arbor because
all councilmembers have espoused
pro-choice views.
Jernigan said he opposed the reso-
lution because the referendum was
already on the ballot and said he
didn't believe the city charter should
be amended.
Councilmember Terry Martin (R-
Second Ward) said such an addition
to the city charter would be inappro-
priate because it would preempt state
government. She said the charter
should not address moral issues like
abortion.
See ZONE, page 2
Mike Ryan, a first-year engineering student, practices his hall bowling skills
as his hallmates from 4th Reeves in Mary Markley hall cheer him on.
.LSA to base credit on class time
by Michael Sullivan
Political science and history con-
centrators will be spending more
time in class starting Fall Term
1991, when those departments adjust
to a, LSA Curriculum Committee
decision to reduce class credits
awarded in upper-level classes.
Last fall the curriculum commit-
tee approved a motion to base class
credits solely on time spent in class.
Exceptions will be made for some
classes such as labs and seminars.
The decision will effect political
science and history students more
than others, since those departments
routinely offer four credits for classes
meeting only three hours a week.
History Professor Sidney Fine
disagreed with the committee deci-
sion: "I.think it is foolish to equate
contact hours in class with credit
hours."
He said the workload in history
courses justified giving four credits
and students learned more if they
took fewer classes per term.
"I'm quite upset and I think many
of my colleagues are equally upset,"
Fine said.
Department of History Chair
Thomas Trautmann expects his de-
partment will "lower the number of
credit hours (per class) appropriately
- and change concentration re-
quirements."
Both Trautmann and acting Polit-
ical Science Chair John Kingdon
said their departments are unlikely to
increase class time.
"To add an hour to all these
classes would not be a realistic op-
tion," said Kingdon, citing the ex-
pense of additional professorial or
teaching assistant time.
The curriculum committee's deci-
sion aims to eliminate the inequity
of credit rewards.
"Students said they did as much
work for three credits as for four,"
explained Committee Co-Chair and
Chemistry Professor Henry Griffin.
Griffin also said the decision
would simplify students' course se-
lections "by eliminating the variety
of credit hours offered per course,"
allowing students to make decisions
based on academic interest rather
than credit.
See CREDITS, page 2
Bush unveils $1.23 trillion budget
Bush reduces defense spending, increases foreign aid
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -
President Bush yesterday sent
Congress a $1.23 trillion budget for
fiscal 1991 that keeps new spending
below inflation and recognizes
"remarkable changes" in the world
by scaling back defense and reward-
ing democracies.
Bush called the spending plan an
*"investment in the future." But
Cheney
proposes
U.S. base
closin gs
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney rec-
ommended closing or scaling back
more than 60 U.S. military bases
and ending operations at 12 overseas
facilities yesterday, a plan that im-
mediately drew congressional fire.
"I understand the problem they're
faced with, but it's absolutely vital
that Congress have the guts to make
the right decisions as we go through
Democratic leaders in Congress
pounced on it as a "standpat budget"
and challenged its claim to halve the
federal deficit, to $63.1 billion.
Fights loomed with the Demo-
cratic-controlled Congress on a range
of fronts: Bush's desire to cut Medi-
care and capital gains taxes, to close
military bases he considers outmoded
and , on the other hand, to preserve
some expensive weapons.
But Sen. James Sasser (D-Tenn.)
called it a document of "low
aspirations," adding "it predicts huge
fiscal problems ahead and then goes
on to propose no change in course."
Bush would increase spending on
space, education and the environment
and the war on drugs. Losers, this
year, are Medicare, college student
loans, farm subsidies, energy con-
servation grants and mass transit.
The president's budget for the fis-
cal year that begins Oct. 1 calls for
$36.5 billion in spending cuts and
other deficit-reduction measures.
It projects a 7 percent increase in
revenues, to $1.17 trillion, without
a general tax increase and just a 3
See BUDGET, page 2
Across the border
Ann Arbor resident Margaret Martin looks through clothes from "Across
the Border." The store will be selling items from Latin America all week
in the Union.
Pesky computer virus
plagues campus disks
by Laura Masini
Not Nyquil, Vitamin C or even chicken difficulty purging it because unknowing stu-
soup can cure students of a virus plaguing dents have been reinfecting the whole system
campus this winter. A remedy exists, by using damaged disks.
however, and it only takes about 30 seconds Like its biological counterpart, the virus is
to restore complete health. non-discriminatory; it may affect any
A computer virus, which destroys disk unlocked disk that fits into any Apple
files and renders them irretrievable, is Macintosh computer.
continuing to spread despite attempts to Not until the virus manifests itself does a
control it. user know it is present. Two strains of the
The virus, known as WDEF, spreads virus, both affecting disks in nearly the same
easily and quickly, said Senior Computer way, have been detected at campus sites.
Systems Specialist Jim Sullivan. Like a Computer center monitors recommend all
biological virus, it spreads by coming in con- Macintosh users safeguard against the virus
tact with disks. When the user opens a file by cleaning their disks before use. A
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