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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 1986)
Tuesday, November 25, 1986TThe Battalion/Page 3 State and Local (cr\ w on in-home work sets off conflict issibility of repeal pits farmers against unions By Christi Daugherty Staff Writer hie possibility that the govern- nent might drop a 40-year-old fed- ral regulation is resulting in a con- ict between farmers and organized bpr. | ■he controversial regulation for- ids the employment of people in ^heir homes for the purpose of mak- Jngspecified handcrafted items. V|he prohibited items are wr)men’s ipparel, gloves, mittens, buckles, buttons, embroidery, handkerchiefs indjewelry. ■eith Garrison, director of farm Hr programs for the Texas Farm wjeait in Waco, said that the law Iriginated when the Fair Labor gaidards Act was written in the 19301. Ht that time the prohibition igainst in-home work was created Huse the new standards could not lednforced in people’s homes. Harrison said the Farm Bureau, Jhith is organizing a write-in cam- to the labor department, op- the regulation because it feels outlived its usefulness, and in ht of the current recession in the industry, does more harm than IfstltHrhe reasons for its existence are inowlr nm. and people need to be able to tnrlfi-Hk,” he said. “Also, the Farm Bu- ITH is pro-free enterprise, and we Hk there’s no basis for this regula- MMifijn “Basically this ban is ig nored except when the federal government de cides to go out and pros ecute someone. ” — Dr. Marvin Martin, as sistant professor in agri- cultual economics William Blackburn, director of policy at the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., said that a recent move by U.S. Labor Secretary Wil liam Brock to lift the ban on certain items resulted in a flood of letters re vealing the different aspects of the issue. “The majority of the letters came from the International Ladies Gar ment Workers Union and several other unions,” Blackburn said. “But many letters came from residents of rural areas.” Blackburn said the union letters were against any move to change the regulation, while the letters from farmers generally were in favor of ending the ban. The unions fear the intrusion of homemade articles on the market and the possibility that their busi nesses might be harmed, he said. Dr. Marvin Martin, assistant pro fessor in the Texas A&M Depart ment of Agricultural Economics, said he has noticed that most farm ers pay little attention to the regula tion anyway. “Basically this ban is ignored ex cept when the federal government decides to go out and prosecute someone,” Martin said. “And that al most never happens. “I mean, how would you go out and find these housewives knitting doilies in their living rooms?” The main problems rest with peo ple who contract out to companies, he said. They’re assigned work to do at home, and when they finish they send it in to the factory. In this way, however, they man age to side-step safety and fair labor “There are firms that ex ploit workers, and then there are farmers who need extra income. ” — William Blackburn, di rector of policy at the La bor Department standards, and even child-employ ment laws. Blackburn said that while public opinion certainly will have some im pact on the ultimate decision-mak ing, at the moment it’s adding heat but not much light to the situation. “There are good reasons for both sides,” Blackburn said. “There are firms that exploit workers, and then there are farmers who need extra in come.” He said that certain employers, mainly in the garment industry, make their employees take work home, often against the employees’ wills. Since most of the workers are ille gal aliens, the so-called “sweatshops” rarely are reported. The sweatshops exist in every state, including Texas, he said, and one recently was shut down in El Paso. The government does not want to legalize this activity, he said. Garrison said that the Farm Bu reau is finding itself in an unusual position, since usually it sides with la bor. “If you can only make garments in a factory then you can unionize easi ly,” he said. “It’s almost impossible to organize people in their own homes.” Blackburn said that no matter what the labor department decides to do, the case probably won’t be set tled anytime soon. “Whatever we decide we’re sure to be challenged in court, so we’ve got to make sure we do this right and satisfy all the legal requirements,” he said. UT officials, students discuss action on drinking death AUSTIN (AP) — University of Texas officials Monday met with about a half dozen students to discuss possible disciplinary ac tion in connection with the drink ing death of a fraternity pledge. The students were summoned by letter to meet with the dean of students after an extensive uni versity investigation into the death of Mark Seeberger, 18, of Dallas. Seeberger was found dead in his off-campus dormitory room Sept. 18. An autopsy showed that he died of alcohol poisoning. Authorities have said See berger died following a fraternity “ride,” in which he and two other Phi Kappa Psi pledges allegedly were handcuffed and forced to drink. University officials have not re leased the identity of the students facing disciplinary measures. Action against them could range from reprimands to expul sion, officials have said. UT spokeswoman Joyce Pole said federal privacy laws pre vented the school from disclosing any information about Monday’s disciplinary proceedings. The Travis County grand jury also has been investigating . Turner’s win confirmed in Precinct 4 recount Results of Saturday’s recount con firmed incumbent Milton Turner’s win in the Precinct 4 Brazos County Commissioner’s race, with a two-vote gain for Turner over the original Nov. 4 tally, Brazos County Clerk Frank Boriskie said Monday. The recount gave Turner 2,162 votes, a 47-vote win over Rodger Le wis’ 2,115-vote total. The votes were canvassed Mon day morning by the Commissioner’s Court at its regular meeting, making Turner’s election official for the next four years, Boriskie said. Lewis requested the recount be cause of the closeness of the first count, a one-percent difference, and several mechanical problems en countered in other precincts during the initial count. Lewis was required to deposit $290 with his petition for the re count. The deposit will be forfeited since the recount did not change the winner of the race. Neither man could be reached for comment Monday. tulf States Utilities accelerating payment of $55.1 million in bonds ns, BEAUMONT (AP) — Gulf States Utili- ies Co.’s cash crunch worsened Monday hen officials announced the firm must ac- Jerate $55.1 million in bond payments (would not normally be due for another !6 years. lat bilHsU supplies the electricity for College itySinfRon and recently received a rate increase ' mincffP percent for its wholesale electric cus- v and ® mers - ^ BSU spokesman Kim McMurray said |§p must make a bond payment of at least • a halmuch in late 1987 on pollution-control c Eng',! al ore at o' ,ke ii« i with arem- ain i® e b' bonds that were backed by insurance agreements with American Mutual Bond Assurance Corp. “Not only are we looking at being out of cash in early March, we’re looking at having a $423 million shortfall next year,” McMur ray said. “The main thing we need right now is cash,” he added. “Our projections show we’ll owe $65 million in interest payments and other obligations by March. Unless we get more cash coming in we’re not going to be able to make the cash obligations.” The insurance agreements, which en abled GSU to obtain a lower interest rate on the bonds, required certain financial crite ria that the company now can’t meet, offi cials said. Under those agreements, GSU now has two choices — make a cash reserve deposit of $55.1 million or have a $110 million promissory note drawn against the compa ny’s assets with payment due in about a year, McMurray said. Since GSU can’t at the moment pay $55.1 million, a promissory note will be drawn on Dec. 4 and will be due for payment on Nov. 29, 1987, McMurray said. Last Tuesday, Gulf States asked the Pub lic Utility Commission for a $144.1 million rate hike. The two-part request includes an emergency $82 million increase that would take effect late this year and an additional $62.1 million increase for next year. The $82 million emergency request is an (Jo. effort to pump quick cash into the com pany. The $62.1 million extra increase would allow the company to cover costs of the River Bend Nuclear- Plant in Louisiana, which went into commercial operation June 16 and supplies electricity for GSU custom ers in Texas and Louisiana. The Louisiana Public Service Commis sion has been asked to approve a $202 mil lion GSU-rate hike,-including $100 million in emergency relief. , ,, 1986 BONFIRE PARKING AND BUS SERVICE HASSLE FREE PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM BONFIRE 6:30 TO 9:30 NOVEMBER 25 jpils I happ torials I nreuf The University Police, the University Shuttle Bus Service and the 1986 Aggie Bon- i! fire will be offering an opportunity for bus service to transport you to and from bonfire from 6:30 - 9:30 pm on Tuesday, November 25, 1986. n't tto ial Itf ihf' lead 1 of> The 1986 Bonfire will be lit at 8:00 pm. In the past, traffic jams and illegal parking on y and around the campus have created hazardous safety problems on our campus during the burning of Bonfire. To alleviate these problems, this bus service is being offered free of charge to all students and visitors to our campus for bonfire. lartf nati f: aift * ;hc» : " PARK IN PA 63 - OLSEN FIELD (SEE MAP) BUSES WILL BEGIN RUNNING AT 6:30 PM, RUN ON 10 MINUTE *f INTERVALS UNTIL 9:30 PM. JT BUSES WILL PICK UP AT THE OLSEN FIELD BUS STOP AND 4 DROP AT THE JOE ROUTT-THROCKMORTON BUS STOP. ALL RUNS INTO THE CAMPUS AND BACK OUT TO THE PARK ING LOT ARE FREE.