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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 18, 1977)
Union local elects president Higgins to aid student workers By BILL LUTZ Of the Emerald Members of the American Fed eration of State County and Municipal Employes (AFSCME local 1893) on campus unanim ously elected Scott Higgins presi dent of the local for the 1977-78 term. AFSCME is the representative union of the 250 student foodser vice workers in the EMU and dor mitories. Higgins says he plans to fight for higher wages next spring when the foodservice workers' contract expires. He also said he would ac tively pursue an unfair labor prac tice suit AFSCME filed against the University concerning alleged vio lations of the contract seniority ag reements “They (the University) are ignor ing what the contract says," he said. Pres.-elect Higgins also said he would initiate a membership drive to build up the union which pres ently has 80 members out of the 250 workers it represents. Higgins is particularly con cerned with membership among the 150 employes working in the dormitories “People (workers) in the dorms just have not been informed about the union. Our goal is to build up membership to at least 150," he said. He also said the union would institute a new shop steward sys tem. This system he explained would require a shop steward for every 20 workers represented by the union — creating better rep resentation, a more informed con stituency and more input into the union. Higgins, a senior in economics and geography, has been a union member for three years, a shop steward for two (representing foodservice workers in the EMU), and on the union negotiating team during the past year. Photo by Gary Whitehouse Scott Higgins and Jack Condliffe Bus riders jockey to win Saturday rally By CHRIS NORMAN Ol the Emerald A bus rally? C mon, you ve got to be kidding. What do you do, give everyone a bus to drag around the streets of Eugene? No not quite, but a bus rally is scheduled for Saturday to mark National Transportation Week, sponsored by the Lane Transit District (LTD), and KBDF-AM, ac cording to a LTD news release. The bus rally is patterned after car rallies, where teams or indi viduals try to reach five predeter mined checkpoints in a given time limit. Rosemary Boss, LTD market ing director, said the purpose of the bus rally is to "call attention to Economist talks on revolt Noted Latin American expert Edward Boorstein will begin three days of lectures at the University today All presentations will be in the EMU Forum. Each lecture is free and open to the public. Boorstein spent three years as an economist for the revolutionary government in Cuba in the 1960s. He worked as an economist and political adviser for Chilean Pres. Salvador Allende before a violent military coup overthrew the democratically-elected government in 1973. Boorstein worked for several years as an economic advisor and analyst for the United Nations (UN), concentrating on the problems of Latin America. While at the UN, Boorstein gained a reputation for his approach to questions of politics and economics. Boorstein is the author of "The Economic Transformation of Cuba. He has just completed a book on Chile to be published in June. Boorstein's first speaking engagement will at 3:30 p.m. today The lecture is intended primarily for a social science audience. It is entitled "Social Scientists and Revolution." Boorstein will speak on “The Struggle for Chile — A First Hand Analysis," at 8 p.m. Thursday. He will discuss “The Cuban Revolution — Where It's Come From and Where It’s Going," at 8 p.m. Friday. Boorstein’s appearance is sponsored by the Cultural Forum and MayDay Cultural Committee. National Transportation Week, to call attention to public transit and energy conservation and to have fun.” Bus rallies are in an energy conscious position, she said, be cause "not one drop of additional fuel” will be used, as opposed to all the gasoline a car rally would burn. The bus rally requires particip ants to reach five checkpoints exc lusively by bus in the least total time. Via Currus, a local auto sport club, will assist at the checkpoints. Winners of the rally will receive a 10-speed bicycle and the choice of either an all-zone Fastpass, which is good for unlimited travel for one month, or an LTD bus and driver for a two-hour charter any where in LTD's service area. Registration for the rally begins at 9 a m. to 4 p.m., but the rally begins and ends at the same time. Boss said an entrant can register, receive the locations of the re quired checkpoints and begin the bus rally at any time — before 4 p.m. that is. She estimates an entrant can get to the five checkpoints in about two to three hours. The registration fee is 50 cents per person and includes bus fare and materials. Registration is at the LTD Customer Service Center, 34 E. 10th Ave. For more information, call 687-5555. The Nigerian Students Association Presents igerian cultural nigh Dinner, movies. Slides. High-Life music. Sunday. fTlai| 22nd 6:30 6ITIU Ballroom $3.50 Foodservice workers ratify wage contract By BILL LUTZ Of the Emerald After two and a half months of negotiating, student foodser vice workers ratified a new wage contract agreement with the University Tuesday afternoon. Foodservice workers overwhelmingly accepted the nine cent wage increase, which will go into effect retroactively as of May 1. However, Jack Condliffe, president of the American Federa tion of State, County and Municipal Employes (AFSCME, local 1893) which represents the 250 student foodservice workers, said they had hoped for at least a 15 cent increase to keep up with the cost of living increase. ‘‘With the cost of employe meals increasing 50 per cent in effect we only got seven cents. But there is no way a union of 200 low-paid student workers can deal effectively with the University bureaucracy. We simply can’t afford to go on strike.” he said. Jack Steward, personnel director representing the Univer sity, said he was “satisfied” with the agreement and added, “The University has to be concerned with operating costs — we've got to hold down food prices.” Steward also said he believed the new pay scale was equita ble with the common rate paid to foodservice workers in the community. Wage contract negotiations came to a standstill April 8 after nearly a month of mediation sessions. At that time Condliffe and his bargaining team took the University s final offer of three cents tc the foodservice workers for a ratification vote, in what he called "an act of good faith bargaining.” The foodservice workers, however, unanimously turned down that offer. Condliffe explained that with the 50 per cent meal price increase for employes the union would have gained nothing. "The three cent wage increase and the meal increase can celled each other." The new agreement will expire April 5,1978, as will the entire contract covering work conditions and other employment agree ments. Condliffe said he was satisfied with the present contract ex cept for wages. That,' he said, “we II have to deal with next year.” ! Happy Hours Monday-Thursrlay 2-5 pm WEDNESDAY & i THURSDAY 9:30-1:30 Jr. Cadillac , Rock from Seattle FRIDAY 2-6 pm '! i1: t 25c Draft Beers . I FRIDAY & SATURDAY 9:30-1:30 The Nighthawks Live Music 7 Nights a Week . . . Come have lunch over the Mill Racq ou fwstut*, AOUfM fPjcm rrtT. rx iUJCt MULWU*} v
