Experts discuss
Latin America
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 22, 1990 - Page 3
Worker files
civil rights suit
against 'U'
by Frank Krajenke
Three experts on Latin American
' affairs discussed recent Latin Ameri-
an political and social movements
pt a forum in the Michigan Union's
Kuenzel Room yesterday.
Robert Kagan, Deputy to Assis-
tant Secretary of State for Inter-
American affairs from 1985-88,
Leonel Gomez, an advisor to the
U.S. House Special Committee on
tl Salvador, and University political
science Professor Daniel Levine par-
ticipated in the event.
goals such as eliminating the middle
class. While under U.S. pressure,
they focused more on democratiza-
tion.
Levine briefly characterized Mr
Kagan's speech as "representative of
the Reagan administration to take
credit for something it didn't have a
hand in creating - democracy."
Levine concentrated on the impli-
cations of Latin American grass
roots social movements. He hailed
the recent burgeoning of social
movements - including neighbor-
hood, women, proto-environmental
and human rights groups - as part
of a developing "autonomous civil
society."
Gomez, a native of El Salvador,
discussed the military and El Sal-
vador, ending out the forum. He said
the military has a personal stake in
the government, which makes re-
form difficult, and results in the
killing of dissidents.
Roberto Javier Frisancho, presi-
dent of the Coalition for Democracy
in Latin America, the forum's spon-
sor, said the discussion showed the
complexity of Latin American is-
sues.
"The purpose is to demonstrate
that there is not only one point of
view," said Frisancho. "I am tired of
hearing about' good versus evil '-
the issues are more complicated than
that."
Robert Kagan
Kagan contended that there is a
pattern of Sandinista internal poli-
cies which show direct United States
foreign policy influence; Kagan ar-
gued that when the United States
Stopped pressuring the Sandinistas
towards democratization, the Sandin-
istas implemented their real political
AP Photo
Commemorative protest
In Sharpeville, South Africa yesterday, a play was staged to protest the
deaths resulting from the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 when 69 people
died after police shot at a crowd marching to protest apartheid laws.
economists see
new U.S. growth
m
THE LIST
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
Meetings
Socially Active Latino Student
Association - 7:30 p.m. in
Angell Hall Rm. 221
Earth .Day Organizing Com-
mittee - meeting at 7 p.m. in
Room 1040 Dana Bldg.
Michigan Video Yearbook -
meeting at 7 p.m. on the fourth
floor of the Union
Amnesty International --- cam-
pus group meeting 6 p.m. MLB
2012
UM Cycling --- team meeting and
rollers riding 6 p.m. in the Sports
Coliseum
Ann Arbor Libertarian League
--- meeting at 6:30 p.m. at
Dominick's
Palestine Solidarity
Committee Meeting --- meeting
at 7:30 p.m. at the International
Center
Tagar --- meeting at 8 p.m. at
Hillel (64 Trees)
Speakers
"Economics and Ecology in
Brazil" --- Sandra Steingraber
speaks at 7:30 pm. in 2413
Mason Hall
"Who was Buried in King
Midas' Tomb? History and
Archaeology at Gordion" --
Geoffrey Emberling speaks from
noon-1 p.m. in Room 2009
Natural Science Museum
"Our Thoughts on the
Holocaust" --- a discussion
about feelings on the Holocaust
at noon at Hillel
"Rethinking Christian Ethics
in Light of the Holocaust" ---
Dieter Georgi speaks at 7 p.m. at
Hillel as part of the 11th Annual
Conference on the Holocaust
"The Transformation of
Latinity: The New/Old
Civilization of Latin
America" --- Michael Palencia-
Roth speaks at 5 p.m. in. the 4th
Floor Commons of the MLB
"Examinations of the Born-
Oppenheimer Approximation
in Diatomic Molecules" ---
Peter Urka speaks at 4 p.m. in
Room 1640 Chemistry Bldg.
"One Bad Daughter:
Women's Contribution to
Independent Film" --- Barbara
Hammer speaks at 4 p.m. in
MLB Lecture Room 2 after a
screening of the film Two Bad
Daughters
"Bridging Cultures: Latino
Art in the U.S. and the Latin-
American Spirit" --- slide show
and anel nraentation from 7-
Achenbaum and Fred L.
Bookstein speak at 4:10 p.m. in
the East Conference Room of
Rackham
"Provisioning and Parenting
Among the Machiguenga of
Southeastern Peru" --- Hillard
Kaplan speaks at 4 p.m. in the
3rd Floor E. Lecture Room of
Rackham
"Special Dynamics,
Epizootiology, and Insect
Community Ecology" --
David Onstad speaks at 4 p.m. in
1046 Dana
"Struggling for Civil Rights:
An Islamic Approach" --.
Imam Khalid Griggs speaks at
7:30 p.m. in Room 100
Hutchins Hall
East Quad's 23rd Annual
Women's Weekend Key note
Address --- Nancy Hawley
delivers the address from 7:30-
8:30 p.m. in the East Quad-R.C.
Auditorium
Furthermore
Women's Club Lacrosse -
practice 4-6 p.m. in the Coliseum
(5th and Hill)
Northwalk --- the north campus
night time walking service runs
from 8 p.m.-1:30 a.m. in Bursley
2333 or call 763-WALK
Safewalk --- the night time safety
walking service runs from 8
p.m.-1:30 a.m. in UGLi 102 or
call 936-1000
ECB Peer Writing Tutors ---
peer writing tutors available for
help on papers 7-11 p.m. in the
Angell/Haven and 611 Church
St. computing centers
Free Tutoring --- for all lower
level science and engineering
classes 8-10 p.m. in UGLi Room
307
Music at Mid-day --- Midori
Koga performs piano pieces by
Mozart and Schubert at 12:15
p.m. in the Union Pendleton
Room
UM Jazz Combos --- combos
from the Jazz Studies Program
perform at 8 p.m. in the North
Campus Commons Dining Hall
Bill Staines --- yodeler,
performer and songwriter
performs this evening at The Ark
Career Planning and
Placement --- choosing your
major 4:10-5 p.m. CP&P
Conference Room
"The People Could Fly" --- a
musical celebration of the African
American spirit at 8 p.m. in the
Mendelssohn Theatre in the
League; tickets are $5
by Lisa Fromm
The U.S. economy will recover
in the first half of 1990 from its late
1989 slowdown, a University eco-
nomic forecast reported earlier this
week.
Forecast author and Economics
Professor Saul Hymans said the
forecast's most significant predic-
tions are that "there will be no accel-
erating inflation and that economic
growth is going to continue in the
U.S. in the next couple of years."
The new forecast is an update of
the annual November report. It was
prepared by Hymans and Economics
Profs. Joan Crary and Janet Wolfe.
Hymans is a two-time winnner of
the Silbert Award, which honors the
nations most accurate economic
forecaster.
"We expect the economy to be
heading toward a more normal and
sustainable growth track," the Uni-
versity economists reported. "The
Fed (Federal Reserve) appears to
have achieved the much-heralded soft
landing and the economy is still ex-
panding after seven years of eco-
nomic growth."
"Judged by forecasts published in
Blue Chip reports, our forecast is
DAILY
CLASSI FlEDS
one of the most optimistic about the
economy in 1990," Hymans said.
The report predicts the gross na-
tional product to grow at an annual
rate of 2.2 percent in the first quarter
of 1990 and 3.5 percent in the sec-
ond quarter, up from the 0.9 percent
annual rate measured in the last quar-
ter of 1989.
Sectors expected to lead the
growth include: exports, producer
investment, home building, and car
and light truck sales.
The University forecast says con-
sumer price inflation - which av-
eraged 4.2 percent during 1989 -
will accelerate slightly to an average
rate of 4.6 percent in 1990 and regis-
ter a steady 4.7 percent rate
throughout 1991.
The forecast also predicts the fed-
eral budget deficit to shrink from
$153.3 billion in fiscal 1990 to
$123.5 billion in fiscal 1991 "as
changing world conditions make it
easier to hold the line on federal de-
fense spending."
The foreign trade deficit, just un-
der $100 billion in 1989, "will de-
cline because the dollar is weakening
in value and is expected to continue
to weaken in 1990," Hyman said.
"That will expand our exports and
restrict the number of imports."
Less optimistically, the report
concludes unemployment will re-
main at 5.3 percent for the next year
and interest rates will remain approx-
imately steady over the next two
years.
by Diane Cook
Daily Women's Issues Reporter
Following a suspension from
work without pay, a University
parking booth attendant has filed a
complaint of discrimination with the
Michigan Department of Civil1
Rights against the University.
Avis Maria filed a complaint
March 12, calling the incident dis-
crimination against her for her past
action for workers' rights.
"It was undoubtedly discrimina-
tion against me on the basis of my
past political activity," she said.
Maria left the booth unattended
when she started menstruating and
was forced to use the bathroom in
the Taubman Center, a block away
from the parking booth, rather than
the facilities adjacent to the booth,
while her husband guarded the
money.
Maria said the keys for the
booths are normally housed there,
but were missing when she started
her shift. She notified her supervi-
sor, who told her Maria to call the
previous attendant. She was unable
to reach the person who worked in
the booth before her, so she was
stranded at the booth with no keys.
She said the supervisor returned
to her booth one hour before she was
scheduled to leave to find it attended
by her husband.
"He did not provide me with the
keys," she said. "He had the keys but
he wouldn't give them to me until
seven hours later."
Maria filed a grievance against
the University to ask them to pay
for the two-day lay-off March 6 and
7 that she feels was unjustly given
to her by the Parking Operations
Department.
Judy Levy, bargaining chairper-
son for American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Em-
ployees (AFSCME), said the case is
an example of discrimination based
on sex because women menstruate
and are likely to have emergencies
such as this.
"What man is going to have to
go on his period?" she said.
She said Maria was given exces-
sive discipline because of her past as
a worker's advocate.
"If it had not been a Black
woman who speaks out about racism
and sexism, it would've went unno-
ticed. But, instead, she got laid off,"
Levy said.
Manager of Parking and Moving
Operations Robert Wagner, one of
Maria's supervisors, would not
Distinguished Lecture Series
o
N DR. GEORGE C. BOND
z
"Ideology, Persons, and Spirits:
The Yombe of Northern Zambia"
z
4
Monday, March 26, 3:30 p.m.
Executive Committee Conference Room
Room 2553 LS&A Building
Reception immediately following the lecture
00 Other Lectures in this Series
U. Will be Announced as they are Scheduled
This series is sponsored by the Center for Afroamerican and
African Studies, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and the
Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs
U,"
.-Fdl
comment on the case. He said the
proceedings would be handled
through the University Staff and
Union Relations Office.
Keith Clark, University Staff and
Union Relations representative, said
his office has not reviewed the case
yet. He said when a lay-off of a Uni-
versity employee is made, the
grievance is then reviewed by the
Union representative who presents a
case against the charges for the em-
ployee.
Maria said she has repeatedly
urged the department to desegregate
its supervisory ranks and recruit
women. She said that by doing this,
the supervisors would be more sym-
pathetic to the concerns of the park-
ing employees.
Maria said of the staff of 12-15
attendants at the University's park-
ing structure, 4 are women of color,
2 are men of color while the three
supervisors are white men.
Maria filed a suit against the
University for unfair labor practices
two years ago. Although she lost the
battle in court, Levy it cost the Uni-
versity "thousands" of dollars and
showed Maria's determination.
In the case, Maria said she was
suspended from work for filing a
grievance on behalf of another em-
ployee, which her supervisor called
unnecessary, while she was a union
steward.
Maria filed a previous complaint
with the Michigan Department of
Civil Rights in July of 1987 against
the University when they failed to
promote the most senior part-time
employee to a full-time vacancy.
The supervisor instead promoted a
white woman to the position.
After six months of debating the
issue, the University agreed to pro-
mote another employee, and though
she is a person of color, she is not
the most senior employee.
Maria said the case is still being
reviewed by the Civil Rights De-
partment, but it's making headway.
Maria said the suit has made it to the
the state Attorney General's office
for review.
"It has been a struggle, but I'm
not giving up," Maria said.
'WYP
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