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College Station, Texas
Tuesday, February 20,1990
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■ WASHINGTON (AP) — Vaclav
Havel, the dissident playwright who
Went from prison to the presidency
of Czechoslovakia inside of eight
months, will meet with President
Bush on Tuesday, the first of East
ern Europe’s new democratic lead-
to visit the White House.
Havel was arriving here Monday
gening after stops in Iceland and
Hanada on a Western trip that comes
pnspicuously a week before his first
ip to Moscow.
The Czech Parliament elected Ha-
Bd president Dec. 29, a few weeks
■ter a peaceful revolution led to the
oi ter of Communist Party chief Mi-
kh Jakes and his hard-line govern-
Bent.
B Now the country, under Havel’s
[ckietaker government, is preparing
for June 8 parliamentary elections
at will be its first free balloting in
ore than 40 years.
Havel has said he is coining West
lot to look for charity but invest-
ment in a country that already main-
Bins a standard of living well above
Bat of Poland, its neighbor to the
nprth.
“Czechoslovakia is not looking for
J.S. aid. They are not in the same
onomic dire straits that ... Poland
has been in,” a senior Bush adminis
tration official said.
Secretary of State James A. Baker
III, in a brief visit to Prague Feb. 6,
already signaled support for giving
Czechoslovakia most-favored-nation
trade status and allowing it to rejoin
the International Monetary Fund. It
was a founding member of the IMF,
but was evicted after the 1948 com
munist takeover.
And, if Congress approves,
Czechoslovakia would share in a
pool of $300 million in new aid the
Bush administration has requested
for the emerging democracies in
Eastern Em ope.
The United States has already an
nounced plans to reopen its consul
ate shuttered for more than four de
cades in Bratislava in the Slovak
region of Czechoslovakia.
The administration also expects to
expand exchanges and possibly dis
patch Peace Corps volunteers to
Czechoslovakia, the official who
briefed White House reporters on
the Havel visit said.
The new Czech government is
prodding the Soviets to remove their
73,500 troops as quickly as possible.
Striking Kroger employees stand outside the College Station
Photo by Fredrick D.Joe
store Monday night. The strike began Sunday.
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lains urges reform
)f education, prisons
r BILL HETHCOCK
I The Battalion Staff
ms
IA crisis in education and a need
DclCk threT reform in the criminal justice sys-
pem are the two biggest problems
iBexas faces today, Republican gu-
. « wBrnatorial candidate Jack Rains
01 the jI'Bid Monday in a speech sponsored
i ml aim l A gg ies for Rains -
umauiO' k R a j ns proposed raising teachers’
■laries, putting more state money
( workshop; l t0 core curriculum and allowing
Khool districts and teachers more
ock cliirte
xograms ai;|
mtsanoppor
pxibility to try new programs that
encourage students to stay in school.
He also called for an end to state
mandated educational programs
paid for by local funds, and a cut
back in funds spent on administra
tive overhead.
“We must allocate growth in state
revenues to education,” Rains said.
“We’ve increased educational fund
ing by 50 percent in the last five
years, but we haven’t seen a good re
turn on our investment in education
yet. We need to make sure the
money that goes into education is
See Rains/Page 11
) fellowship I Ini versifies launch balloons
|n memory of youth fatalities
g* Fee"
)y DAPHNE MILLER
If The Battalion Staff
LAs part of Texas Designated
Iriver Day, the Texas A&M Desig-
pted Driver Program will launch
50:1 balloons in front of the Law
rence Sullivan Ross statue Wednes-
fy at noon.
The balloons will represent the
1)3 people between the ages of 17
nd 24 who were killed in alcohol-re
lated accidents in 1988 in Texas.
I Ten other Texas colleges and uni
versities will host simultaneous bal-*
$25/11
Toon launches. They are Amarillo
College, Austin College, East Texas
State University, St. Mary’s Univer
sity, Southern Methodist University,
Tarleton State University, Texas
Christian University, Texas Tech
University, University of Dallas and
University of North Texas.
A&M President William H. Mob
ley has been invited to speak during
the event.
Lynda Sorrell, A&M program
coordinator, said the balloon launch
See Driver/Page 11
Kroger employees at local stores
strike for more benefits in contract
Monday, the first full day of a
strike over wages and Benefits at
73 Southeast Texas Kroger
stores.
“Alt the stores are ojpen> H Car
men Pate, consumer affairs man-
S I r for Kroger in Houston, said.
Up-re using our own employees;
and many . nonunion workers,
managers* hiring temporary fi|lp
and bringing in employees from
other areas to keep our stores
Workers began the strike Sun-
day ’when talks Between the eora~'
•ood and Commercial Workers
Union broke down. The union
contract expired at midnight Sat
urday. Meat cutters are rep
resented by UFCW Local 408.
The walkout affects about
7.000 clerks, rheat chtters>>«&sh-
ternoon in Houston. "They are
talking at this time and we are
willing ip conhnue negotiating,*?:
By STACY E. ALLEN
Of The Battalion Staff
Strikers wearing signs and en
couraging customers not to shop at
Kroger stores were at both Kroger
locations in Bryan and College Sta
tion Monday.
Kroger employees are striking in
hopes of obtaining a more lucrative
employment contract.
Seventy-three Kroger stores from
Beaumont to Nacogdoches are in
volved in the strike, which officially
started Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in Hous
ton.
Members of Local 455 of the
AFL-CIO Retail Clerks Association
and Local 408 of the Meat Cutters
Union have been striking in Bryan-
College Station since 9:30 p.m. Sun
day.
A three-year contract for Kroger
workers expired Saturday at mid
night after a week of negotiations.
According to the Houston Chroni
cle, a 12 percent wage increase is be
ing asked for by Kroger employees.
College Station Kroger strikers
said Kroger employees took a wage
reduction of $2.30 per hour over the
past three years due to what Kroger
management referred to as eco
nomic circumstances of the time.
According to a flier given out by
strikers, Kroger employees made
more money in June 1983 than they
make today.
Albert Morales, frozen food man
ager and striker in College Station,
said the strikers are asking for what
Kroger took from them in the past
three years.
“We can’t make a decent living on
what they pay us today,” Morales
said.
Alvin Burch, fellow striker and
grocery clerk, said he estimates that
almost 100 percent of the full-time
workers and 50 percent of the part-
time workers have walked out of the
College Station Kroger.
College Station Kroger Manager
Larry Medearis said he did not know
how many employees were striking.
Burch said most of the employees
still working are Texas A&M stu
dents.
“The people left are mainly stu
dents, because they don’t realize
what Kroger is doing to them,”
Burch said. “Their salaries will al
ways stay at $3.50 per hour with no
benefits unless we do something.”
Vann Fernandez, a sophomore in
dustrial engineering major at A&M,
is one of the few students striking.
“The reason I’m going on strike is
to help future students,” Fernandez
said. “I may not be here in a few
years, but I want the student that
takes my job to make enough money
to go to school.”
John Humphreys, ajunior techni
cal design major at A&M, agreed.
“Not all students can have their
parents pay for their education,”
Humphreys said. “We are trying to
help ourselves as well as future stu
dents.”
Although the strike has not re
sulted in a decrease in customers,
Medearis said, the hours at the two
locations in Bryan-College Station
have been shortened until the strike
is settled. Kroger stores are normally
open 24 hours a day, but new hours
are from 7 a.m. to midnight.
Strikers said a meeting is sched
uled Tuesday in Houston between
the union and Kroger management,
and they expect an agreement to be
reached.
Burch said he doesn’t think the
strike will last long because Kroger’s
sales are hurting.
“The president of Kroger made
$4 million last year,” Burch said.
“What we are asking for would
amount to $3 million per year. We
don’t think that is unfair.”
Photo by Fredrick D.Joe
Howard Fisher, a University employee, waits ev- erinary Medicine for his ride. He carpools with
ery day at 2:30 p.m. in front of the College of Vet- eight others from Hearne.
Rep. gubernatorial candidate
speaks out at political forum
Candidatesfor governor missforum at A &M
By JULIE MYERS
Of The Battalion Staff
Six candidates were scheduled to
speak at the Gubernatorial Candi-
clates’ Forum sponsored by Political
Forum Monday, but only one ar
rived to participate in the debate.
Democratic gubernatorial candi
dates Theresa Hearn-Haynes, Earl
Holmes and Ray Rachel were con
tracted to speak at 5 p.m. Hearn-
Haynes and Rachel cancelled their
appearances over the weekend.
Republican gubernatorial candi
dates Edward Cude, W.N. Otwell
and Royce X. Owens were scheduled
to speak at 8 p.m. Only Owens came
on time.
David Karr, Political Forum pro
gram director and sophomore radi
See Candidates/Page 11
By JULIE MYERS
Of The Battalion Staff
Being rich isn’t necessary to be
governor of Texas but it sure would
help in getting elected, a Republican
gubernatorial candidate said Mon
day.
Royce X. Owens, a former per
sonnel director at Texas A&M,
“T
I his drug war is gonna
take a licking and keep on
ticking.”
— Royce X. Owens,
gubernatorial candidate
spoke at the Gubernatorial Candi-
dates’ Forum sponsored by the MSC
Political Forum.
Owens said 119 agencies are fight
ing drugs and $8 billion is being
sunk into the drug war. He said
there should be an alternative to the
present policy.
“This drug war is gonna take a
licking and keep on ticking,” Owens
said.
In addition, Owens said he would
not rule out any type of new ta\ as a
source of new revenue.
“If the need for new revenues
E roves absolutely inescapable, raise
:vies on the money people spend,
rather than from taxes on money
earned,” Owens said.
Owens said he would lower the
drop-out rate by mandating that em
ployers who hire high school drop
outs pay them less than minimum
wage.
He also supports a woman’s right
to abortion, lower insurance rates, a
state bonus for Vietnam Vets, cam
paign reform, rural hospitals, and
garbage recycling.
“My definition of patriotism is
shown by striving constantly to make
one’s own country the best, where
true freedom and justice exist,” he
said.
Owens is currently a janitor at Tye
Elementary School in Merkel,
Texas.