The Michigan Daily - Thursday, May 26, 1983,- Page 17 Clerical eligibility challenged at union vote (Continued from Page 3) THE challenged votes are pulled and Jarmer said. their ballots would be kept secret. feared they would lose their right to a then submitted to a panel including SOME UNION supporters, however One top-level secretary, who has secret ballot. union, MERC, and University said this was a move to keep clericals worked at the University for 18 years, Clericals whose status was representatives, said Shlomo Sperka, from unionizing. said being challenged was "very challenged were required to enclose MERC official. "I think it was very political and very frustrating." The woman, who asked their ballots in a second envelope and Any clerical who has any supervisory arbitrary the way the potential unit was not to be identified, said she feared her write their names and social security duties may be considered ineligible to defined by the University," said Tom vote would be disqualified because she numbers on them. The double envelope vote, said Jim Jarmer, Michigan's Vega-Byrnes, library assistant. "The didn't support AFSCME. ensured that the ballots remained director of the American Federation of University wants to make sure people THE UNIVERSITY believes the 153 secret and allowed union officials to State, County and Municipal Em- with strong feelings for the union are names AFSCME eliminated was an check a clerical's eligibility. ployees (AFSCME). kept out." improper challenge, said Thiry. Under guidelines by the Michigan The list which was issued in late April AFSCME eliminated 153 names from The 153 employees were all the Department of Labor Employment was updated before the vote when the the list because the employees had highest ranking secretaries at the Relations Commission (MERC) both University eliminated names of 25 em- some managerial duties, said Jim University, Thiry said. Most of these the union and the University are ployees considered "confidential," and Thiry, University's personnel director top-level workers receive the highest allowed to challenge a voter's an aditional 26 workers who had been SOME CLERICALS who were salariesandhaveseniority. eligibility. fired, promoted or transferred, challenged said they were not confident Fleetwood closes, ends Ann Arbor tradition (Continued from Page 1) The diner, which was unable to scrounge up the money to pay the taxes, was devastated by the penalty, Dum- sick said. "I DON'T have money coming out my ears. This is a small business, not General Motors," she added. Several diehard Fleetwood customers are planning a drive to save the diner. Leslie DePrietro, one of the drive organizers, said she feels the IRS is overstepping its legal bounds by charging such a steep penalty. "The Nazi's are out in full force," said DePrietro. "I'm concerned about the violation of the Fleetwood's civil liberties." THE FEDERAL bankruptcy court in Detroit ordered the diner closed to protect creditors. Before the diner can reopen, the Fleetwood must sign a petition for bankruptcy which must be approved by the federal court. Dumsick said she also has to round up the 20 employees who were temporarily laid off. The entire food stock was sold to pay off debts, which also must be replaced before the Fleetwood reopens, she said. "I hope our reorganization will be satisfactory to the court," she said. "Af- ter making it through three years in a bad recession, it would be terrible to close because of this." UNTIL THE Fleetwood can pay off its debts, all checks issued by the diner will read "debtor in possession," which will cause many of their suppliers to stop doing business with them. In ad- dition, monthly financial statements will have to be prepared for the court. Two other Ann Arbor restaurants have also closed this month. Bimbo's, once a popular pizza restaurant and bar, closed its doors this week although it has been operating under Chapter 11 guidelines for a few months. Bimbo's owner Tony Maties is scheduled to appear in Federal bankruptcy court on May 31. The Central Cafe, a small homey restaurant on South Main, informed workers Monday that it was closing permanently. The cafe shut down the same day, before the end of business 'hours. Dumsick said she suspects Central Cafe was also bankrupt, but the owners could not be reached for comment. CUSTOMER INFORMATION FROM GENERAL MOTORS HOW TO SAVE YOUR LIFE AND THE ONE NEXT TO YOU. OVERCOMING YOUR PSYCHOLOGICAL RESISTANCE TO SEAT BELTS MAY BE THE KEY. The facts are startling. Experts estimate that almost half of all automobile occu- pant fatalities and many serious injuries might have been avoided if the people had been wearing seat belts. That's because most injuries occur when the car stops abruptly and the occupants are thrown against the car's interior or out of the car. Belts reduce this risk. Many people say they know the facts, but they still don't wear belts. Their reasons range all over the lot: seat belts are trouble- some to put on, they are un- comfortable, or they wrinkle your clothes. Some people even think getting hurt or killed in a car accident is a question of fate; and, there- fore, seat belts don't matter. If you're one of those people who don't use belts for one reason or another, please think carefully about your motivations. Are your objections to seat belts based on the facts or on rational- izations? Here are a few of the common rationalizations. Many people say they are afraid of being trapped in a car by a seat belt. In fact, in the vast majority of cases, seat belts protect passengers from severe injuries, allowing them to escape more quickly. Another popular rationaliza- tion: you'll be saved by being thrown clear of the car. Here again, accident data have proved that to be untrue- you are almost always safer inside the car. Some people use seat belts for highway driving, but rationalize it's not worth the trouble to buckle up for short trips. The numbers tell a different story: 80% of all automobile accidents causing serious injury or death involve cars traveling under 40 miles per hour. And three quarters of all collisions happen less than 25 miles from the driver's home. When you're the driver, you have the psychological authority to convince all of the passengers that they should wear seat belts. It has been shown that in a car, the driver is considered to be an authority figure. A simple reminder from you may help save someone's life. Another common myth: holding a small child in your arms will provide the child with sufficient protection during a crash. The safety experts disagree. They point out that even during a 30 mph collision, a 10-pound child can exert a 300-pound force against the parent's grip. So please make sure Child Restraint Systems are used for children who aren't old enough to use regular seat belts. If you're an employer, encourage your employees to wear seat belts. At GM, we've made it a matter of policy that everyone riding in company-owned vehicles is expected to wear lap and shoulder belts. We heartily support the program initiated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to en- courage the use of seat belts. So please fasten your. own belt, and urge your family and friends to follow your example. 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