Page 2/ r The Battalion/Monday, April 28, 1986
Opinion
Large labor strikes
a thing of the past
United feature Syndicate
MAR6UUES
WOt/STON POST
i iiere was a time
during the 197 0s,
you might remem
ber, when die auto
motive and some
John
Cunniff
AP analyst
other industries acquiesced to wage de
mands, believing they could recapture
the extra costs by raising prices.
It worked, for a while, and the con
sensus of economic thinking is that it
contributed in some degree to the tre
mendous inflation that raged during
that decade and eventually brought
American producers to their knees.
From their new position of Weakness,
the producers were able to persuade
unions that further wage increases
would be mutually destructive, since the
economy was in trouble and Japanese
imports were cutting deep into sales.
The attitude spread to other indus
tries, too, and soon it was common to see
labor and management agreeing to
work toward a common goal, that of
lowering costs and raising productivity,
and thereby making America more
competitive.
Now a dramatic legacy can be wit
nessed, one that might best be ex
pressed in the question: What ever be
came of those big old-fashioned strikes?
“Major strikes — those involving a
thousand or more workers — have
fallen off drastically in the past five
years,” said Merrill Lynch economist
Donald Straszheim as he displayed , a
jagged Labor Department chart.
From 1950 to 1980, the chart showed,
such strikes fell to fewer than 200 only
in the early 1960s, a period of relatively
low inflation and rising economic expec
tations. Twice in the 1950s the line on
the chart rose beyond 450. And twice
between 1965 and 1975 it stabbed 400
string. Last year there were only about
50 strikes involving more than 1,000
workers. In 1979, 20 million worker
days were lost to strikes; last year, the
figure was down to 7 million.
There seems no question at all that at
tempts by labor and management to un
derstand each other, to end mutually
destructive practices and to work to
ward common goals, deserves some rec
ognition for the improvement.
Improved economic times must be
credited, too.
When inflation raged, workers felt
compelled to catch up. But during the
past few years, inflation has abated and
workers can see real gains in their dispo
sable income.
Moreover, millions of new jobs have
been created each year for the past
three years, a fact often disguised by a
jobless rate that has remained naggingly
high at about 7 percent because of an in
crease in the labor force.
” Awn^rcllIklTC C rTO MIAMI BEACH, ANP THE GOATS,PIGS,
ANP ELEPHANTS CANCELLEP.. SO MUCH POR THE WIDE AST TRAVEL BUSINESS... "
While much of the increase rep
resents primary breadwinners, many of
the new entrants are secondary earners
— family members attracted to the labor
force by the opportunity for additional
income. They are less likely to sti ike.
Straszheim adds these reasons:
Europe saves protests for U.S,
IVii'i
l<)
I I a
• Corporations have continued to
operate more often during strikes. In
creased automation has helped, and
strike breakers are frequently hired.
• Sharp employment losses in union
ized industries have reduced workers’
expectations, making wage demands
more' modest.
• Union membership has declined,
thus the potential for strikes involving
1,000 or more workers has been re
duced.
On July 10, 1985,
the Greenpeace
ship, Rainbow
Warrior, threat
ened to sail into
the South Pacific
to thwart a French
nuclear test. While
t h e -s h ip was i n
New Zealand wa
ters, France re
sponded. Govern
ment agents blew
have issued no such warning to their
own citizens.
Richard
Cohen
up the ship, killing one person aboard.
or more.
Since then the line has collapsed like a
John Cunniff is a business analyst for
The Associated Press.
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For this act of murder, the requisite
French officials have been reprimanded
and those without high rank or political
protection prosecuted. For a more cyn
ical use of state power you would have
to look pretty hard. But the Champs
Elysee did not swell with roaring chants
of indignation and nowhere else in Eu
rope did people take to the streets. No,
Europe saves that for the United States.
But the major European concern is
terrorism itself. Many Europeans are
afraid that retaliating against Moammar
Khadafy is like poking a snake with a
stick. This is hardly an irrational fear. In
the last year alone, there has been two
terrorist incidents in Spain, six in
Franci, three in Greece, four in Ger
many, three in Italy and one in Austria.
Whatever the eventual result of the U.S.
bombing might be, in the short term
there will be an upsurge in terrorism.
Many Americans, quick to condemn Eu
ropean timidity, have themselves
canceled plans to travel abroad this
summer. For Europeans, things are not
so simple; they are already abroad.
died when commandos botched ami
tempt to free the passengers on an
Egypiair plane forced to land in Mala
No one — that's who.
It’s true that not all these terrorisiin-
cidents can be traced to Libya, noteva
most of them, and it’s true dial
France and Italy there were publicprfr
tests against terrorism directed agains
Jewish targets. But by and large, thost
Europeans who are inclined to exhibi
their political opinions bv marching,
not hit the road until U.S. bombs
Tripoli. Then, as if the event took plait
in a vacuum, a roar came up fromtlit
pavement.
Jn<
ipi><
_ s i j
i
r:
k,
Now Europe is in a suit about the U.S.
bombing of Libya. President Reagan is
once again being caricatured as a shoot-
from-the-hip cowboy who has, in true
Western fashion, reached for his six-
shooter when the time had come to par
ley. You would think that Reagan has
chosen his target by throwing a dart at a
map. Bingo! Hit Libya.
The Europeans have their concerns.
One of them is economic. Italy, the for
mer colonial power in Libya, does a fair
amount of business with it. All the major
European countries have citizens who
work in Libya and some of them have
substantial construction projects under
way. President Reagan made sure to
warn the Americans months ago to get
out of Libya; the European countries
Still, Europeans who are so quick to
demonstrate against the United States
ought to ask themselves why they did
not do the same when the Rome and
Vienna airports were littered with the
bodies of 16 persons killed by terrorists.
Where were they when three members
of one American f amily were blown out
of a plane over Greece? Why no wide
spread European indignation when 18
Spaniards were killed in the Madrid
bombing of a restaurant frequented by
U.S. servicemen?
You can argue over the wisdomofllt
bombing. You can argue over the man ”
ner of its execution. You can fear
American standing in the Middle fail
for whether the lessons of Libya willk
misapplied to Nicaragua. But you cai
not treat the bombing as if it were
unprovoked, irrational act — asifithai
not been preceded by many bombing!
years of carnage and a constant pit;
from the United States to the European
nations to punish Libya economical
The response was a cynical shrugofik
shoulders by those same European na
tions.
Where was the march for the bomb
ing last month that killed two persons in
Paiis; the one on Feb. 5 in a Parisian
shopping mall; the bomb that exploded
in a crowded Latin Quarter bookstore
the day before; or the one that exploded
Feb. 3 on the Champs Elysee, wounding
eight persons? Who marched for the
Achille Lauro and Leon Klinghoffer,
for the TWA hijacking and Navy diver
Robert D. Stedhem or for the 57 who
T here are a thousand concernslok
voiced. But you can not voice an outrage
that does not take into account all thai
went before: terrorist acts all over tk
world and, finally, the one thattooktk
life of an American soldier April 5 la
West Berlin. European anti-American
ism is plain to the ear. The sound ofsi
lence has been replaced by the roarof
hypocrisy.
Richard Cohen is a columnist for Ik
Washington Post Writers Group.
90
Vi.
■ *
Mail Call
Flag-waving on both sides
EDITOR:
I was impressed with Wednesday’s well-written column by
Marco Roberts, president of Gay Student Services. However,
despite the patriotic tone, his message is not as benevolent as it
appears.
He says, . we are not infallible .... we may find need to
change . . . we must be wise enough to let go” of certain obsolete
values in light of truly American ones, and “we should show
respect for reason . . .
I he “we”, of course, is intended for people holding a specific
moral position, and such statements are far from confessing that
the GSS may need an attitude adjustment. To the contrary, the
implication is that a community that protests the practice of
homosexuality in its midst is fallible, needs to change, ought to let
go of useless values and is being unreasonable, if not un-American.
So now we have flag-waving on both sides. I should think the
Founding Fathers would weep.
Paul R. Koch
basis for civilized society. If laws were broken by everyone, there
would be chaos and the human race would be reduced to animals.
Therefore the United States cannot, in good conscience, simply
ignore Libyan terrorist activity against Americans. The United
States attacked Libya only after exhausting other non-violent
avenues of reprisal.
If Khadafy is to be thought of as a human being, he will have to
act like a human being.
Tracy E. Ward
Roth asked Pallmeyer “how he can bear to associate with a
Univeristy which supports the perpretation of such acts.” This is
indeed a question of great concern. Roth encouraged Pallmeyerto
“disenroll.” I suggest he opens his eyes and deal with the problem,
instead of running from it. Highway 6 doesn’t always run two
ways.
Joe Bryant
Not a typical student
Apartheid explained
EDITOR:
Act human
EDITOR:
Col. Moammar Khadafy has been behind the deliberate
murder of not one but many innocent people. Yet Derek Bercher
in his letter in the April 2 1 Battalion condemns the U.S. attack on
Libya because Khadafy’s “ 15-month-old adopted daughter is dead
at the hands of an American bomb.”
What about the women and baby that were blown out of a
commercial airliner and killed after a terrorist bomb exploded?
That was an international attack on innocent people. The
American attack was on carefully chosen military targets. Any
civilian casualties were accidental.
I would like to offer a response to Michael Roth’s statements
concerning his criticisms of divestment in South Africa. He
questions the logic in columnist Karl Pallmeyer’s statement that
“A&M’s mpney is being used to oppress an kill people.” The fact
that someone could complete four years at our “world class”
Univeristy and still fail to see the logic there is a disturbing
thought. Let me try and explain it.
In South Africa, the system of government is not so keen as
ours. It’s called apartheid. The apartheid system relies on violent
oppression by the white minority to keep the blacks under control
and virtually w ithout any rights. The government silences black
opposition with brutal force. Hundreds of innocent people have
died. Numerous accounts of children being tortured in jail have
just been exposed. Recently, a South African soldier fled his
country. He spoke of being haunted by the screams and sounds of
crushing bones beneath the tanks. These examples are a fraction
of the horrible truth.
While two wrongs don’t make a right, someone must stop the
breach of international law (i.e. terrorism) because laws are the
Texas A&M has nearly three million dollars invested in
companies which do business in South Africa. These companies
provide vital economic support. Without a major mental leap, one
should be able to see that if A&M monetarily endorses these
companies that support South Africa w ith its brutal apartheid
system, we are ourselves supporting the system. We are, in fact,
allowing A&M’s money to be spent to oppress and kill.
EDITOR:
I’d love to direct my letter at all of those immature, closed-
minded people I’ve been running into lately. I’m not your typical
A&M student. I don’t wear those Hawaiian-reject shorts and a t-
shirt that says what I did on my spring break. And I don’t go to the
Chicken to drink beer and gawk at others who walk by.
I choose to be different and I like it. I have both my ears
pierced and I wear clothes most people sell at garage sales or give
to the Salvation Army. But I’m just a person, not a conversation
piece.
When I first came to Texas A&M, I was told it was a pretty
liberal school. I’ve since changed my mind. But the people who I
am friends with are not associated with a certain clique or group. I
have preppy friends, frat daddy friends, cadet friends, and I also
have f riends with mohawks, fluorescent hair or no hair at all. Bull
don’t associate myself with any group of them. I’m just me!
They’ve gotten to know me and they found out,“Hey! He’sa
cool guy.” I wish I could go to the Chicken or to parties without
catching so much flak. So to you people who think I’m gay (which
I’m not. I have a very pretty girlfriend), weird, rebelling society,or
whatever, give me a break. I put my pants on one leg at a timejust
like everybody else. Thanks.
Carey “Spike” Doifiinguez
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial siatl re
serves the right to edit letters for style and length but will make every effort to
maintain the author’s intent. Each letter must be signed and must indude the ad
dress and telephone number of the writer.
En
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