The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 7A " With Obama set to take office, labor unions compile wish list Judge: White House needs to recover millions of e-mails HE the uni WAS labor u Obama . looking Labo ing pre Democ include unions, worker hibitin nently and exf Gett busines walk in Still, they'll Bill Cli 12 year the Wh Back cal Le employ leave to es or p. in the e ton ad and the over tl Trade tion on ultimat "We war" it preside Service Union, This ye workin ise tha problen econorr eavy backers of Ross Eisenbrey, labor expert and vice president of the liberal president-elect, Economic Policy Institute, said he expects the outcome to be differ- ons n lOW looking ent this time "because the labor movement has a clear agenda and for payback I think Obama shares it." While Obama's support could SHINGTON (AP) - The help, unions' diminishing mem- unions that helped Barack bership has made it tough to get win the White House are their legislation passed. Unions gfor some payback. represent about one in eight U.S. r's wish list for the incom- workers, down from about one in esident and the expanded five 25 years ago. ratic majority in Congress The biggest labor-business don- s making it easier to form nybrook in the new Congress will expanding the pool of be over a bill that would do away s who can join them, pro- with employers' right to demand g employers from perma- secret-ballot elections to recog- replacing striking workers nize unions. Instead, a company panding health care. would have to recognize and bar- ing much of that, as one gain with a union once union cards s leader puts it, won't be "a were signed by 50 percent of the the park." company's eligible work force plus ,labor leaders are confident one additional employee. do better than in 1993, when The House passed the measure nton became president after in 2007, but it died under a Repub- s of Republicans occupying lican filibuster in the Senate. Presi- ite House. dent Bush had vowed to veto it, but then, the Family and Medi- Obama made it part of his platform. ave Act, which required Both sides plan to again spend mil- 'ers to grant workers unpaid lions of dollars on ads and lobbying care for ill children, spous- for and against it, and the bill may arents, was signed into law suffer the same fate next year. arly weeks of the new Clin- "It will be a very high prior- ministration. But Clinton ity fight and a high visibility, noisy unions quickly parted ways fight," Eisenbrey predicted. he North American Free Labor leaders say employers Act, complicating coopera- have used secret-ballot elections, his health care plan, which generally held on job sites, to ely failed. coerce and intimidate workers into had a completely partisan rejecting unions. Employers coun- n 1993, said Andrew Stern, ter that workers are often coerced nt ofthel.9 million-member by their peers to sign union cards Employees International and that a secret-ballot election is the nation's largest union. the only way to determine their ear, labor and business are true desires. g together under the prem- "We haven't been bashful" about t "solving the health care labor's position, said Bill Samuel, m is essential to solving the the AFL-CIO's legislative direc- sic problem," he said. tor. "Nor has the business commu- nity." Thomas J. Donahue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Com- merce, said his group is preparing a nationwide effort against the bill and other labor initiatives that he contended unions see as "political payback for their efforts and their investments" on behalf of electing Obama and other Democrats. "It's not goingto be a walk in the park," Donahue added. House Republican leader John Boehner wrote before the elec- tion that Obama's support for the bill "should send a chill down the spine of every man and woman who treasures his or her privacy in the workplace." In the short term, labor advo- cates are counting on an Obama administration to help people hit by the economic downturn by extending unemployment ben- efits and boosting infrastructure spending. That includes coming to the aid of the tottering U.S. auto industry, an issue that has brought labor and big business together. Last week, the chief executives of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC and the president of the United Auto Workers union asked Democratic leaders in Congress for $50 bil- lion in new loans on top of the $25 billion that Congress approved in September to retool their plants for makingmore fuel-efficient cars and trucks. Half the new money, $25 billion, would go toward helping the com- panies meet health care obligations for more than 780,000 retirees and their dependents under contracts signed in 2007 with the UAW. Alan Reuther, the UAW's legis- lative director, said a government loan covering most of the retiree health care obligations would give the ailing auto companies a better chance of lining up other financing to stay afloat. Among other bills that could appear on the legislative calendar in 2009: -A new minimum wage increase. Congress approved a three-step, $2.10 increase last year. The minimum now is $6.55 an hour, and the last step, a 70-cent increase to $7.25 an hour, will occur next summer. -The Paycheck Fairness Act passed the House in July, but the White House threatened a veto and the bill never made it out of the Senate. Supporters said it was needed to close loopholes that allow employers to avoid responsi- bility for discriminatory pay. -The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, named after an Alabama woman whose pay discrimination lawsuit was thrown out on a 5-4 Supreme Court vote in 2007. The court said she waited too long to sue. The House passed legislation to remove that time limit, but it hit a filibuster wall in the Senate. -The House in 2007 also passed legislation to extend collective bargaining rights to public safety workers such as police and fire- fighters in all 50 states. It stalled in the Senate. -Obama has supported legisla- tion to overturnthe National Labor Relations Board's 2006 "Kentucky River" rulings that classified hundreds of thousands of skilled workers, such as nurses and con- struction workers, as supervisors if they direct a co-worker 10 percent of the workday. Labor says the rul- ings could interfere with rights to join unions. -The House last November passed legislation to end work- place discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Senate did not act. Messages are spread over 225 days, date back to 2003 WASHINGTON (AP) - A fed- eral judge yesterday ruled against the Bush administration in a court battle over the White House's prob- lem-plagued e-mail system. With two-and-a-half months remaining before the Bush admin- istration leaves office, U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy ruled that two private groups may pursue their case as they press the gov- ernment to recover millions of possibly missing electronic mes- sages. Kennedy rejected the govern- ment's request to throw out the -lawsuits filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Wash- ington and the National Security Archive. The government had argued that the courts did not have the author- ity to order the White House to retrieve any missing e-mails. Kennedy, an appointee of Presi- dent Clinton, said the two private groups seek precisely the relief outlined in the Federal Records Act and upheld in a previous case by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Dis- trict of Columbia Circuit. CREW and the National Security Archive want a court order direct- RETIREMENT From Page 1A reports in the media of retirees who have had to go back to work or sig- nificantly delay their retirement. But, in most of those cases, the people involved had a significant percent of their portfolios invested in stocks, say, 85 percent Not everyone shares Kephart's optimistic outlook, however, espe- cially considering that no, one knows how much longer and how much further stock markets will continue to fall, dragging down with them faculty membera's' retirement accounts. Political Science Prof. John Jackson said he believes the effect of the financial crisis is being felt now and will continue to hit retire- ment funds. "Theimpactisquitesubstantial," he said. "We will feel it soon." Emeritus Physics Prof. Law- rence Jones, who has been retired ing the archivist of the United States to initiate action throughthe attorney general to restore deleted e-mails. Meredith Fuchs, the National Security Archive's general coun- sel, said that because of the ruling, a court order directing the White House to preserve 65,000 computer backup tapes remains in place. Fuchs said that when the Bush administration surrenders its records to the government on Jan. 20, the incoming administra- tion of Barack Obama can "do the right thing here and clean up this mess by ensuring that any missing e-mails are restored from computer backup tapes." A White House document obtained by The Associated Press in August says the White House is missing as many as 225 days of e-mail dating to 2003. The nine-page draft document about the White House's e-mail problems invites companies to bid on a project to recover missing electronic messages. The end date for the work was listed as April 19, 2009. The White House has not said whether it has hired a con- tractor. CREW executive director Mela- nie Sloan called the court ruling "a clear victory for the American people. The Executive Office of the President does have to answer for the missing e-mail." for 10 years, said he's satisfied with his retirement benefits. Even after losing about 10 percent of his total portfolio in recent weeks, Jones said he isn't concerned. "I may use my money more care- fully, but my portfolio has been handled well by TIAA-CREF," he said. "So it's been perfectly satis- factory." Jones said he has several other retired friends, none of whom have mentioned retirement problems to him. Meanwhile, TIAA-CREF hAs implemented a number of initia- tives meant to alleviate University employee worries and ensure they are invested" appropriately. The company has set up presentations on North and Central Campus, and is encouraging professors to con- tact their representative with con- cerns. For now, the market decline has not significantly affected many faculty members. "No one really to my knowledge is putting things off because of what's happened," Kephart said. Death toll rises to 94 in Haiti school collapse Concrete building collapsed three days earlier PETIONVILLE, Haiti (AP) - U.S., French and Haitian firefighters used sonar, cam- eras and dogs yesterday in the search for victims at a collapsed Haitian school, but as the stench of death rose from the wreckage they no longer expected to find anyone else alive. Three days after the concrete building sud- denly collapsed during a children's party, kill- ing at least 94 students and adults and severely injuring150 more, Capt. Michael Istvan of Fair- fax County, Va., said the chance of finding more survivors was remote. He also said the death toll won't likely go much higher. Several bodies were pulled out yesterday, caked in concrete dust, and radar and cameras located several more. But there have been no indications of survi- vors since the last children were pulled from the wreckage Saturday morning, said Daniel Vigee, head of a Martinique-based French res- cue team. Rescuers were probing spots where neigh- bors claimed to have heard voices or received cell phone calls from trapped survivors, with- out success. Before dawn Monday, the Americans and French firefighters from Martinique opened up new areas to search by cutting apart a two-story high concrete slab that had been hanging precariously since the school tum- bled down. Istvan's firefighters were flown in by the U.S. Agency for International Development, and an eight-person militaryteamfromthe U.S. South- ern Command also helped. It was unclear how many people were in the building when it fell, though the school is believed to have had about 500 students. Haitian officials said some had time to escape when it began to fall, and it was not known how many were pulled out unharmed on Fri- day. Some students weren't at the school during the collapse because La Promesse was hold- ing a party requiring a donation of up to 25 gourdes (63 cents) that poorer families could not afford, said Steven Benoit, who represents the area in the Haitian Parliament's lower house. "A lot of students had their lives saved because they couldn't get in," Benoit said. A man takes a break from rescue work at the 'La Promesse' school in Haiti, where at least 75 people were killed. With holidays near, Circuit City files for bankruptcy Nation's second largest electronics seller can keep operating RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Fac- ing pressure from vendors and consumers who aren't spending, Circuit City Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday as it heads into the busy holiday season with hopes that the move will help it survive. Under Chapter 11 protection, the nation's second-biggest electronics retailer can keep operating while it develops a reorganization plan. Its Canadian operations also filed for similar protection. The company also said it cut 700 more jobs at its Richmond, Va., headquarters, after announc- ing a week ago that it would close 20 percent of its stores and lay off thousands of workers. In court documents, Chief FinancialOfficerBruceH. Besanko cited three factors: erosion of ven- dor confidence, decreased liquidity and the global economic crisis. "Without immediate relief, the company is concerned that it will not receive goods for Black Friday and the upcoming holiday season, which could cause irrepa- rable harm to the company and its stakeholders," Besanko said in the filing. Its shares fell 14 cents, or about 56 percent, to 11 cents on Monday before being halted. Circuit City, which has had only one profitable quarter in the past year, has faced significant declines in traffic and heightened competi- tion from rival Best Buy Co. and others. The company laid off about 3,400 retail employees last year and replaced them with lower- paid workers, a move analysts said could backfire, hurting morale and driving away customers. While the retail industry overall is facing what's expected to be the weakest holiday season in decades, Circuit City's struggles have inten- sified as nervous consumers spend less and credit has become tighter. At a hearing in Richmond, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Huen- nekens granted Circuit City inter- im approval to secure $1.1 billion in debtor-in-possession loans while it is in bankruptcy protection. Those funds, needed to stock merchan- dise and pay employees, replace a $1.3 billion asset-backed loan the company had been using. Circuit City also was granted interim approval to abandon 150 leases at locations where it no lon- ger operates stores, which it said costs $40 million annually. The company, which said it had $3.4 billion in assets and $2.32 bil- lion in liabilities as of Aug. 31, is hoping to exit court protection by early summer 2009, putting it in a position to find a buyer for the chain or operate as a standalone business., Final approval of the motions will be addressed at a Dec. 5 hear- ing. Analysts said much depends on Circuit City's relationship with its vendors and how it handles its real estate issues. Circuit City is a well-known brand and could re-emerge from bankruptcy, Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analyst David Schick said in a note to investors. "We believe the mar- ketplace has a slot for a higher-end chain with a commissioned sales force," he said. But Stephen Lubben, a profes- sor at Seton Hall Law School, said Circuit City's survival depends on whether its creditors work with the company "or whether they think they're a lost cause and cut them off permanently." JPMorgan analyst Christopher Horvers agreed, saying it boiled down to merchandise. "If they can get inventory into the stores, I can think they'll remain competitive." The company's biggest creditors are its vendors: Hewlett-Packard has a $118.8 million claim followed by Samsung ($115.9 million), Sony ($60 million), Zenith ($41.2 mil- lion) and Toshiba ($17.9 million). Smaller creditors include GPS navigation system maker Garmin, Nikon, Lenovo, Eastman Kodak and Mitsubishi. Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Baker told investors that consum- ers learning about Circuit City's bankruptcy may go elsewhere because of a lack of confidence in the company. At a Circuit City Warehouse Store already slated for closure in Milwaukee, Courtney Bergeron, 29, said he heard the news about the company and figured he should see if there were any deals for flat- screen TVs. Although he saw some discounts - about 15 percent off televisions at least 32 inches wide - Bergeron figured he should wait. "On Black Friday, they're prob- ably going to be lower than this," he said. Bergeron and his friend, Ber- tha Harris, also 29, said they hadn't shopped muchat CircuitCity over the years. He said Circuit City's selection was limited, so he ended up buying more electronics from Best Buy and discounter Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Harris said she was always dis- satisfied with service at Circuit City. When she asked questions the workers couldn't answer them on their own, she said. "They knew as much as I knew about things," she said, adding it wasn't much. Circuit City announced a week ago it planned to close 155 of its more than 700 U.S. stores by Dec. 31. It is laying off about 17 percent of its domestic work force, which could affect up to 7,300 people. Horvers said the reorganization could help Circuit City get out of leases for certain bad store loca- tions - something Schick said had been one of the company's main issues. Y LECTURE From Page 1A cate of engineers and scientists in the U.S." Ehlers studied for three years at Calvin College in Grand Rapids and then transferred to the University of California at Berkeley, where he received an undergraduate degree in physics and a Ph.D in nuclear physics. He spent six years researching and teaching at Berkeley before moving back to Grand Rapids in ACTIVITIES From Page 1A alternative to the typical drinkingand partying scene. John Harlowe, the director of "Late Night Penn State," said the school's president, Graham Spanier, came up with the idea for the program 12 years ago. "He was criticizing students for having a one-track mind as far as social life and the students fired back," Harlowe said. "He chal- lenged them and they challenged him." Harlowe said Penn State offers programs every Friday and Sat- urday night, drawing upwards of 7,000 students per year. Similar to Michigan's program, each Penn State event hasa movie, craft activ- ity and board games, he said. other notable schools that have similar programs include the Uni- versity of Florida and West Virginia University. Courant said schools display inclusivity by offering programs like Umix and Late Night Penn State. "It's bad manners to have all of the options be either 'Drink or look like you're odd,' so one should pro- vide a broader range of options," he said. But UMix director Karla Robin- son said the program is also geared toward students who drink, notjust those who abstaif. 1966. He taught physics at Calvin College for 16 years and served as chair of the Physics Department. Ehlers hopes "to give an edge to the United States from foreign countries that are trying to surpass us in those fields," Chapman said. The James R. Mellor lecture, according to a University website, "showcases an individual whose leadership has contributed to the public good." The series is funded by an endowment from Mellor, a University who was a former chair- man and chief executive officer for General Dynamics Corporation. "Something we're trying really hard to do is market this program as a late night social event, and not as an alternative program," she said. "We just kind of bill it as a late-night social activity." UMix has had some success lur- ing drinking students away from the typical Friday night party. Accord- ing to a University Health Servic- es survey, about a third of UMix attendees drink occasionally on Fri- day nights, and of that group, more than two-thirds said they drink less on nights they attend UMix. Most UMix attendees said they come to events because the easygo- ing setting helps them feel comfort- able without drinking. While painting a pumpkin and watching other her peers belt out the words to the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way," Kinesiology junior Kara Miller expressed that sentiment. "I don't drink, so there's not a ton to do at night other than like hang out with friends or watch a movie, so it's just something else," she said. LSA junior Aissatou Barry, the UMix student coordinator, said peo- ple in the program don't view those who party before coming to Umix any differently thanthose who come to the Union right at 10 p.m. "A lot of students we have just come at midnight. We don't mind that actually. They're not taking advantage of us in any way," she said.