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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 28, 1983)
Public employees union rejects state's offer By Sandy Johnstone Of the Emerald More than 95 percent of Oregon Public Employees Union members have rejected the state's last offer in a statewide referendum vote. At the University, where about 800 classified employees belong to the OPEU, only six voted in favor of the state's offer, while about 500 voted to reject it, according to Donna Glathar, a member of the negotiating team and a University classified staff member. “It’s real clear to the bargaining team that what they've been saying is what people want," she says. Union negotiators are hoping to meet with the state this week, although Glathar had not received any notification of a meeting as of Tuesday. 800 University classified staff threaten strike vote, walkout “Hopefully we will see a movement on the part of the state,” she says. In case the state does not present a “reasonable" offer, the OPEU has ten tatively scheduled a strike vote for Aug. 16-17. “We are hoping the statewide vote and the (possible) strike vote will make them (the state) re-evaluate their posi tions,” Glathar says. If the negotiators are making "significant progress" at the bargain ing table, then the OPEU would pro bably postpone a strike vote, she says. The main issues at stake are fairness and job security — not salary — Glathar says. The OPEU objects to the following provisions of the state's last offer: • The state would not pay for all health insurance costs in the second year of the contract. It would pay only one-half of the increased cost for the second year. OPEU says it should pay all costs. • The state would allow temporary interruption of employment as often as the employer desires for a maximum of 10 days. OPEU wants only five days of temporary interruption each year. If more is needed, then people should be layed off. • The state wants to retain a clause in the contract dealing with contrac ting work to non-union members. OPEU says that clause would give them less protection under the con tract than under the current law because of a regulation recently enacted by the Employment Relations Board. • The state limits the rights of employees to bump those with less seniority when there are layoffs, saying they must have held that position before, and that they cannot bump within their own classification. OPEU says employees should be allowed to bump those with less seniority in their own classification, or into a lower classification, if they have the necessary job skills. Weekly meetings on campus are be ing held Tuesdays at noon in the EMU to keep union members updated on the negotiators’ progress, Glather says. Merit scholars plan to enroll at University Univarsity news bureau Six finalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition have been named recipients of four-year Universi ty Merit Scholarships, according to James Buch, University admissions and records director. In addition, four recipients of corporate-sponsored, four-year Merit Scholarships have indicated they plan to enroll at the University this fall. The University is the only public in stitution in the state chosen by any of the 28 Oregon Merit Scholars who received college-sponsored grants, Buch said. The rest will attend private colleges in Oregon or elsewhere. The winners of the University sponsored scholarships are: James Killam, Aloha High School; Thomas Prowell, Sunset High School; Mark Derby, Hillsboro High School; David Fawcet, Lake Ridge High School; Ar thur McGehehey Jr., Roseburg High School; and Jennifer Phillips, Sweet Home High School. Winners of the corporate-sponsored scholarships are Deidre Mears, Klamath Union High School; a Beatrice Foods Co. grant; Anna Gilson, Paisley High School, a Montgomery Ward Foundation scholarship; Andrene Hyatt, Pleasant High School, a Times Mirror Co. grant; and Steven Allison, Wilson High School, an International Business Machines Corp. scholarship. The University-sponsored scholar ships are renewable for up to four years of undergraduate work at the University. Annual stipends, adjusted for each recipient’s financial need, range from $250 to $2,000. The national average is about $1,000. More than one million high school juniors entered the 1983 Merit Scholar ship competition by taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test in October, 1981. About 15,000 of the highest scoring students were named semifinalists in fall, 1982. Some 190 colleges and universities in 40 states, one-third of them public institutions, are sponsoring 2,000 Merit Scholarships worth $9 million this year. Corporate-funded grants worth $7.2 million went to 1,500 reci pients nationwide. The 15,000 semifinalists represent the top one-half of 1 percent of the 1983 class of graduating seniors in 50 states. Bookstore board elects new members to posts The University Bookstore has chosen four students and one faculty member as two year members of its board of directors and elected board of ficers for the 1983-84 school year. New officers are. accoun ting major Andy Storment, president; law student Michael Larson, vice presi dent, political science major Dale Penegor, secretary; and Tim McCloskey, undeclared, treasurer. Elected as respective class representatives were Henry Jacobsen, a graduate student in management; sophomores McCloskey and pre-business Iff iiiajv/i rviuic** ity11, anu pic business major Maria Hitz, as freshman representative. Appointed to the faculty position was University Con tinuation Center director Clarence “Dick” Schminke. Schminke replaces Richard Stein, an associate professor of English, who resigned. The Bookstore is a non profit organization unaffiliated with the University, but intend ed to serve the needs of the University community. Its board of directors, which is composed of eight students, two faculty members and one classified staff member, acts as its governing body. Til VWs - MERCEDES - BMWs DATSCIN - TOYOTA - AUDI Reliable Service For Your Foreign Auto 342 2912 2025 Franklin Blvd Student Discount! 10% Off on all books to any student with current I D We re close to campus at 19th & Agate. BOOK and TEA N 1646 East 19th • 344-3422 March protests Wah Chang A two-front march protesting Teledyne Wah Chang will converge on Albany by foot, bicycle and raft this weekend. Wah Chang, located just off Interstate 5 in Albany, is the world’s largest producer of zirconium, a material essential to the nuclear reactor and weaponry industries. The protest is the combined effort of two environmental groups, Eugene Direct Action, a local anti-nuclear group, and Forelaws on Board, an environmental group contesting the permanent storage license Wah Chang has recently received for its hazardous radioactive waste. Eugene Direct Action will lead Eugene walkers, boaters and cyclists protesting Wah Chang’s zirconium production. The EDA trek, dubbed Journey for Peace, will meet in Corvallis on Saturday to join the Forelaws on Board-sponsored Walk on Wah Chang. Both groups will travel from Corvallis to Albany on Saturday where they will be met by a parade rally, picnic and music. For more details call Journey for Peace, 343-8548. SHARE A RIDE Rennie’s Landing Come to the Deck and Enjoy our Daily Lunch Special Open Weekdays at 7:30 a.m. with our 1214 Kincaid 687-0600
