LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 11, 2002 - 3A Markley fire exit sign snatched According to Department of Public Safety reports, a fire exit sign was reported stolen from the center of the 5400 corridor of Mary Markley Resi- dence Hall early Saturday. Alcohol found on. University bus rider A caller stated early yesterday morn- ing that a person wearing a red and gray shirt had a case of beer on a Uni- versity bus, DPS reports state. The per- son was cited for a minor in possession of alcohol. Football shatters window in Bursley A person threw a footballinto a win- dow of Bursley Residence Hall Friday afternoon, according to DPS reports. The window appeared to be broken. People caught drinking near Yost Five individuals were cited for alcohol ordinance violations Friday night after they were caught drink- ing and carrying two 12-packs of beer outside Yost Ice Arena, DPS reports state. Faulty pipes lead to flood in Rackham It was reported Thursday after- noon that the second floor of the Rackham Building sustained dam- age due to broken water pipes, according to DPS reports. Bag stolen from room in West Quad while resident slept According to DPS reports, a sus- pect stole a book bag from a room in West Quad Residence Hall Thurs- day night. The resident of the room was asleep when the incident occurred. Emergency room visitor passes out, injures head DPS reports state that a 16-year- old visitor of a patient passed out and hit her head on a sink at the University Hospital Emergency Room early yesterday. Person taken to hospital after arm wrestling injury A person was injured arm wrestling Friday morning at the North Ingalls Building, according to DPS reports. Huron Valley Ambu- lance took the person to St. Joseph Hospital. Computers stolen from parked car A man reported Friday afternoon that computer equipment was stolen from his car, which was parked in the Catherine Street lot, according to DPS reports. Stolen items included an IBM Thinkpad 3000, a Dell PC and soft- ware valued at about $2,000. Student receives MIP, UIP package A person was cited for minor in pos- session and urinating in public at East Quad Residence Hall early Saturday, DPS reports state. MCard stolen from UGLI student lounge A person's MCard was stolen from the Student Lounge of the Harold Shapiro Undergraduate Library at around 11:30 Thursday night, accord- ing to DPS reports. Sweatshirts taken from vehicle while parked in valet. A woman reported Thursday morning that she had three sweat shirts stolen out of her vehicle, which was valet parked in the East Medical Center parking lot, DPS reports state. Sleeping man taken out of the Union A person was found sleeping in the basement of the Michigan Union Thursday afternoon, accord- ing to DPS reports. He was read trespassing rights and escorted out Borders workers want union representation By Ricky Lax Daily Staff Reporter The Borders Books on East Liberty Street has scheduled three mandatory all-store meet- ings in November after employees announced that they are seeking representation by local union UFCW 876. A majority of the store's workers have authorized the UFCW 876 as the exclusive representative of all such employees for collective bargaining. Borders operates over 390 Borders stores domestically, 800 Waldenbooks stores, 29 international Borders stores and 37 stores in the United Kingdom The store in Ann Arbor was the first opened. So far, only one Bor- ders store, in Minneapolis, has unionized. In the '90s, three stores had contracts negotiat- ed by the UFCW. But these contracts were not renewed. Today, several flyers posted outside the store read, "Why have the employees of Bor- ders Books at 612 E. Liberty formed a union? Eroding benefits; layoffs and demotions; huge cuts in payroll that have effected our staffing level tremendously." Jaime Dunlap, a Borders employee, said he agrees with the flyers' statements. "Principally, it's job security and the fact that we think that the company needs to be held more accountable in the way it treats people," he said. "There was a woman here who had been here for about a third of her life and they eliminated her position and said you can take this step down and it means a substantial pay cut, that was the. only way they were willing to keep her, so she left. Several other good people have left, thinking that that was the handwriting on the wall." A major complaint of Borders workers is poor attitudes in management. "Another part of it is respect for the employees. Sometimes we get treated like we're children, and we're not," Dunlap said. "One of the big things that they fall back on with the pay thing is, well, the economy is in a slump. You know, we're adults, we know that. We pay taxes. We watch the news." Low salary increases also perturb the workers. "I've been here for two years and since I've started here I've gotten 63 cents in pay increases. I pay 50 dollars a month for the privilege of parking my car ... and I don't think that's appropriate," Dunlap said. One worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said she supports the rights of workers who want to unionize. "If the majority of the workers feel that there is a need for a union, I don't have a problem with that. I know that sometimes people can loose health benefits in negotiation, which is kind of scary for me." But Borders Group, Inc. Corporate Affairs Counsel Anne Roman offered a different per- spective. "Overall, throughout the company, turnout is down drastically. Staffing levels at stores are determined based on sales volume," Roman said. "Borders takes seriously the input of our employees and has always encouraged open and direct communication between employees and their managers as well as the senior manage- ment of the company. We provide a very open environment." "By the same token, the company has a right to communicate to employees that we do not believe union representation is neces- sary," she said, adding that Borders offers employees broad based stock options and a 401K savings plan. Other benefits employees receive include a vision plan, dependent life insurance plan, domestic partner benefits and the established Borders Group Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists employees in time of need, Roman said. RYAN WEINER/Daily Jon Okey, a magazine clerk at Border's Books on East Liberty Street, restocks shelves with new magazines. The employees of the store are currently seeking union representation. Teaching research center celebrates 40th anniversary Tech talk By Min Kyung Yoon Daily Staff Reporter Celebrating 40 years of excellence in teaching and learning at the Uni- versity, the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching enjoys a par- ticular prestige as the first teaching center in the nation. Administrators, professors, students and past CRLT directors gathered to commemorate the many accomplishments and con- tributions of the center to the Univer- sity campus at the Michigan Union Ballroom Friday afternoon. Since its inception in 1962, CRLT has actively been part of providing an environment conducive to teaching and learning at the University, said CRLT Director Constance Cook, who described many of the center's various achievements. "CRLT has developed numerous pub- lications, a website with two and a half million hits per year, runs programs, fac- ulty and GSI orientations and provost seminars on teaching," Cook said. "CRLT works closely with individual departments and colleges for projects they choose to improve teaching." Through CRLT's dedication to the support and advancement of teaching and learning, University students are able to reap the benefits of curricular reforms of every sort, Cook explained. "CRLT is influential in calculus reform, new (graduate student instructor) training and engineering, and in developing more inclusive curriculum for the School of Social Work and many other departments and schools," Cook said. Lester Monts, senior vice provost for academic affairs, also emphasized the important role of CRLT in curricular reform efforts. "The center staff has been engaged in a countless reform effort ... and they have accompanied the College of Engineering (to) revise and expand its GSI training program to make it considerable and more effective," Monts said. University Provost Paul Courant said CRLT is a resource that can be used to realize the potential of the Uni- versity's energy and creativity in a variety of aspects in teaching. The immediate effects of Sept. 11, 2001 presented an example of this process, Courant explained. "We suggested classes on September 12 be dedicated to the discussion of the events. Many instructors felt unpre- pared to the challenges associated to such a discussion," Courant said. "On the afternoon of September 11, we requested that CRLT develop some guidelines for faculty about how to face this difficult educational task." "CRLT created a series of guide- lines for discussing the tragedy that were circulated throughout the Uni- versity by e-mail," Courant said. "Faculty here quickly sent them on to college elsewhere and the effects were far reaching. We soon learned that institutions across the country were distributing the guidelines, including many located close to Ground Zero in New York City." TUNY DING/Daily Hand Lakes High School senior Brian Coatta works Saturday with his teammates during a design competition as part of the College of Engineering's Tech Day. Mich. elects majority of female candidates LANSING (AP) - Michigan voters went to the polls in the mood to split their votes between Republi- cans and Democrats. But where they had a choice between a woman and a man, they usually chose the woman, regardless of party. The result:Democrat Jennifer Granholm was elected the state's first female governor, Republican Terri Lynn Land was elected secre- tary of state, Republican Candice Miller was elected to the U.S. House, a record 11 women were elected to the state Senate, and women won election to the Michi- gan Supreme Court and to each of the stateeducation boards. Only the ,state House saw a decrease in the number of women elected, dropping from 27 to 23 when new lawmakers take office in Janu- ary. But even there history was made, as House Democrats on Friday elect- ed Rep.-elect Diane Byrum to be their leader, making her the first woman to head a legislative caucus. "To me, what this election was a lot about was the true emergence of women in political power," said Craig Ruff of Public Sector Consul- tants, a Lansing think tank. It's "a major step in the direction of what's inevitable - that nearly half of all the elective posts that we fill will be by women." t Nationwide, there's a severe a shortage of professional nurses-and the demand will only increase, as Baby Boomers age and require more skilled health care. It's the right time for a nursing career. And, if you're already a college graduate, you can earn an Accelerated B.S.N. degree at Loyola University Chicago in just 13 months! 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