7“ The Battalion
V 4TI0N
Page
Monday • February 17,1
Clinton orders American pilots back to work early in strikf
NEW YORK (AP) — The word
“strike” does not conjure up such scary
images to the flying public anymore.
That is the precedent set by Presi
dent Clinton in ordering American Air
lines pilots back to work witliin minutes
after they declared a strike early Satur
day, averting chaotic disruptions to
hundreds of thousands of passengers.
If pilot negotiations at four other
of the nation’s biggest airlines get to
the brink of a walkout, airline chiefs
and passengers almost certainly will
be looking to the White House to
keep the planes in the air.
Clinton made a popular decision
by effectively removing the one po
tent negotiating weapon in the
American pilot union’s arsenal.
There was little sympathy for the pi
lots in their quest for more com
pensation, largely because at
$120,000 a year they are already
among the most highly paid profes
sionals in the country.
But Clinton also sent a signal to
all airline workers, particularly pi
lots, that could severely restrict their
bargaining power. Encouraged by
the stronger possibility of presiden
tial interventions to prevent strikes,
airline bosses now have little incen
tive to accept union demands.
“I think it has some implications
for the industry that aren’t all good,”
said Ron Keever, an American pilot.
“Management can just sit back and
let the government step in, instead
of negotiating in good faith.”
American pilots have not been the
only ones trying to squeeze more mon
ey out of the U.S. airline industry, which
has become healthy and profitable
again after years of painful losses.
Pilots at United, Northwest,
Continental and USAir also are
haggling over new contracts and
have been keeping a close watch on
the American negotiations.
The United branch of the Air Line
Pilots Association, which recently
turned down a 10 percent four-year
pay increase proposal, warned pilots
that if Clinton got in the way of an
American Airlines strike, it would
weaken their bargaining position.
Pilots at Continental are prepar-
i® ■
ing for contract talks to start this
summer and hope to get a piece of
the company’s profits after
years of enduring lower pay
relative to colleagues at
dther airlines.
All six of the unions at
Northwest Airlines are in ne
gotiations and looking for
higher pay while the com
pany is asking for increased
productivity.
At USAir, managers are
trying to cut pay. The com
pany recently offered pilots
a 12.5 percent pay cut in return for a
seven-year contract without layoffs.
Clinton’s decision marked the
first time in 30 years that a president
Clinton
declared an airline strike an emer
gency and ordered the workers back
to their jobs. But he did so
with the comfort of know
ing that not too many
union leaders were going to
complain about it.
Unlike the Air Line Pilots
Association, which is affiliat
ed with the AFL-CIO, Amer
ican’s pilots are a splinter
union known as the Allied
Pilots Association.
The American pilots had
even angered some in ALPA
— by far the nation’s biggest airline pi
lot union — suggesting ALPA mem
bers at American’s turboprop sister
airline, American Eagle, were not
qualified to fly jets
To some extent, Clinton’sdi
to intervene was a spedalsii
that would not necessarilyapp!;
tore crises. He held in hishanc
fate of holiday travel plans for
families traveling with children
got a week break from school.
lawffar
L.:-
SPACE Cl
Ironauts toe
GOP committee head says probe will be broader than expecte
Twenty-five subpoenas
have already been issued
in the investigation of
the president's campaign
contributions.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chairman of
the House committee investigating cam
paign fund-raising activities said Sunday his
probe will be far broader than originally an
ticipated. As justification, he cited new alle
gations of official Chinese attempts to help
the Democratic Party.
The White House aide handling the prob
lem, counsel Lanny Davis, countered that
suggestions that President Clinton encour
aged improper campaign contributions in
any way were "flat out wrong.”
Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., chairman of the
House Government Reform and Oversight
Committee, said on NBC’s "Meet the Press” he
has issued 25 subpoenas already, 20 of them
Saturday night for documents related to his in
vestigation. The hearings are still weeks away.
“We are going to look into every area where
there is the possibility of illegal activity as far
as influence peddling, illegal contributions,
possible involvement of White House per
sonnel and things like that,” he said.
“The investigation unfortunately is going to
be much broader than I would like,” he said. The
committee has 500 people it wants to talk to.
Burton said hearings will begin in April or May
with “no way to know how long it’s going to go.”
The Senate Governmental Affairs Com
mittee, under Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn.,
is conducting a parallel investigation. That
committee has issued 52 subpoenas.
Both committees are seeking documents
and testimony from former Democratic Na
tional Committee fund raiser John Huang and
the Indonesian conglomerate where he worked
before joining the Clinton administration.
Huang, Burton said, “may very well have
given information that he shouldn’t have to
the Chinese and others.”
The Washington Post reported last week
that evidence has emerged that the Chinese
embassy in Washington was interested in pro
viding money to the Democratic Party. That
would be illegal under U.S. law, and no proof
has been presented that the Chinese did so.
Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., a member of
Thompson’s committee, said on CBS’ “Face
the Nation” that the senators will look into
the matter. “This is a very, very serious alle
gation,” Nickles said.
Also appearing on NBC, Davis said Clinton
is “very seriously monitoring” the China issue.
He insisted, however: “There’s no policy
affected by contributions to this president.
There’s no governmental actions affected by
contributions to this president. The presi
dent has made that very clear.”
Excesses have occurred in campaign fi-
Clinton’s action also doesiMi
out an American pilots' strike
days. Under law he can not block
from striking again, although
gress has the ability to imposea A onc j a y n
ment on the Union and '^tMfRiescope’s t
Ironically by some acco* foil) wire)
both sides were extremely do c j mte corc ]
ar > agreement In the houisinrl Mission c
ately before the 12:01 a.m.S.1 ttle Disc(
strike deadline. Sll . vt .n Smill
■/er splits in
lation, appai
ire during s
The crew
leek while i
■itific gear t
nancing, Davis said, but “it's another!
to say that the president encouragedito
proved it. That’s flat out wrong.”
Another potential problem for tht
mocrats emerged Sunday with a repom
Washington Post that the administe
changed a key policy toward Guam after!
manians made a major contribution!:
Democratic Party 7 . Davis said the admin
tion official in charge of Guam confirme:
the policy changes “had been determine;
before” the contributions.
Davis also saici the White House had he.
coffees, informal small-group meeting!
Clinton that have aroused controversytei
some guests had made, or would laterr;
large contributions to the Democratic hr
Quick fix
American health industry cashes in on search for elusive medical miracle
WASHINGTON (AP) — Matt
Aukofer had heard all the hype about
zinc helping colds. So he popped the
lozenges when his sniffles hit — and
suffered a week with the flu, a virus
that zinc is not known to affect.
“I had a hard time telling if it
helped or not,” said Aukofer, 34, of
suburban Washington, who is con
sidering giving zinc another chance
on his next cold.
Zinc lozenges are selling as fast as
stores can stock them, the latest in a se
ries of health fads that have Wall Street
and manufacturers raking in big dol
lars even before science determines
whether the therapies really work.
“I never told anybody it was a
cure for the cold,” Dr. Michael
Macknin of the Cleveland Clinic
said, whose study of Cold-Eeze zinc
lozenges kicked off the fad — and
who then found himself embroiled
in controversy when he made
$145,000 on Cold-Eeze stock.
“This doesn’t deserve the publici
ty it’s gotten for a preliminary
study,”he said.
But the $6 billion, mostly unreg
ulated dietary supplement industry
is growing 10 percent a year, fueled
largely by news reports touting pre
liminary research that send con
sumers racing to the store.
“We’re a quick-fix society,” Dr.
Lewis Green, an Emory University
family physician said. “We get blind
sided with patients coming in with all
kinds of demands for things that
haven’t been tested and proved.”
Fads like zinc fall into a gray area:
scientifically promising but unproven.
Macknin performed a 100-pa
tient study at a respected hospital,
which passed scientific scrutiny to
be published in the Annals of Inter
nal Medicine in July.
Macknin said he “got goose bumps”
as he compared the data and discov
ered those who took zinc every two
“This doesn’t deserve
the publicity it’s
gotten foi; a
preliminary study.”
Dr. Michael Macknin
Researcher, Cleveland Clinic
hours starting within a day of the first
symptoms got well three days sooner
than people who took a placebo.
But he stressed that one small
study is not proof. Indeed, he said,
earlier zinc research was skewed be
cause so many people disliked the
taste and stopped taking zinc, then
told researchers they felt better.
Still, Macknin bought 9,000 shares
of tiny Quigley Corp. after his study
was finished—but before he finished
preparing the data for publication.
By January, when stores had or
dered $12 million worth of Cold-
Eeze, the stock had risen above $30
a share, from below $1 last spring.
Critics began questioning Mack-
nin’s findings after publicfind
records last month disclosedltl
made a profit of $145,000,
“It would take a superk
person not to be influenced!;
way they write up the data,"Dil
ney Wolfe of the consumeradii
cy group Public Citizen said.
Macknin said lawyers and efe
he consulted had okayed hk
purchase, and the medicaljount
cided it was not importantenou
disclose. Macknin, workingMtk
pendent scientists on hisfollow-u
search, argues it’s unfaiMe^'
searchers never to invest.
iii
Sponsored by McDonalds
Sandwich $2.19
Extra Value Meal $3.49
(available 2/10/97 - 2/28/97)
Aggie Bucks Accepted
At These Locations:
1 University Drive
mnnu
Outdoors
•Southwest Parkway
•George Bush Drive
• Post Oak Mall
A Smorgasbord of Adventure Demonstrations,
Clinics, and Presentations \
expemence rt
savor it:
love it
Katherine Larm, Rec Sports Photographer
Saturday
February 22
Come try oi watch demonstiations
onlun outdooi activities like
•SCUBA
•Outdoor Cooking
• Kayaking
•Texas Wildflowers
Outdoor Photography
• Bird Watching
Corns t2k£ 2 l£2k St
2Sr /\£iy outdoor gear
rSISL'l shSp.
For nunc information call the TAAiU
OnuJor office at X45-‘t511
TAMU Outdoor Spring Schedule
Event
Date Register Fee*/**
■ Rock Climbing Clinic
Face Climbing
Feb.18
Now-Feb. 1 7 $20
•Intro Rock Climbing
Feb. 22.
Now-Feb. 20 $30
• Rock Climbing Clinic
Sport Lead
Feb.25
Now-Feb. 24 $20
•Rock Climbing Trip
Feb.28-Mar. 2
Now-Feb. 24 $65/72
•Backpacking Trip
March 1 -2
Now-Feb. 24 $45/54
Spring Break Trip
• Backpack/Canoe
Ouachita Arkansas Mar. T 8-14
Now-Mar. 3 $250/288
•Wilderness Horseback Trip
Mar. 1 2-16
Now-Feb. 27 $362/398
*5tudents & faculty with Rec **Faculty/staff without Rec Memberships and
Memberships
Bryan/College Station Community Members
Spring
Dreak
Trips
Backpacking/Canoeing
$250/288*
Mar. 8-14
You've always wanted to try backpacking,
but have been hesitant to do something
new on your own. Now is your chance to
strap on your backpack and go outdoors
to Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas with
TAMU Outdoors,
Horseback Riding
Mar. 12-16 $362/398*
Join TAMU Outdoors and explore
the Big Bend area horseback
riding, Visit ghost towns, and
mountain-top vistas. Get out and
enjoy the beauty of West Texas
with TAMU Outdoors and Rec
Sports.
Site: :
* non-Rec Member Price
Intramurals
Saturday, March 22,
9:00 am
Run a beautiful 5K course around campus
and then challenge yourself with a mile run
of the Kyle Field Stadium ramps.
Register Today
More Than Just Fun and Games
Kvle Field
Ramp Romp
a
Intramural Registration Dates
Soort
Reqistr.qtiQO
£§£
Eight Ball Doubles
Feb. 10-18
$2
Free Throw Contest
Feb. 10-18
free
Badminton
Feb. 17-25
free
Pickleball
Feb. 17-25
free
Kyle Field Ramp Romp
*$T0 for non-Rec Members
Feb. 17-Mar. 18
$7*
Feature Program
Golf Course
Department
SID
for Rec Members
Challenge Another
Department
Dr. Steven W. Powell, an
8th Degree Belt and
instructor of Blinn
College's Self Defense
Kinesiology programs,
will teach women
practical defense skills
that do not require size
or strength for
effectiveness.
$30/Player
with cart
includes
ditty bag
DeadUnetof
entries is 3/1/97
Game features
person scramble 1
ABC players and sf (i j
start. One student M
is allowed from e°l
department, Rc*/
registration forms H
TAMU Golf Course^
Rec Center. Forn l0 |
information, <4
8 4 5-1723,
Rec Sports FREE Healthy Living Lecture Series
Sport dubs
Come Cheer Your Team to Victory
Handball National Championships
Come see some hard Handball action here at the Rec Center Friday-Sunday, February 21-23.
DALLASi
lines pilots w
[uest for a bi
ecurity. Th
inanagemen
^workers, tl
’resident Cli
The aviat
^cnong the h
■he nation, s
You Need To Know
Wednesday 5:3O-6:30j. m
281 Rec Center
February 19
Massage Therapy
‘pressing tl
I “They’re
Johnny Ray Ward, licensed andct'ltheir eyes w
massage therapist will explain the . . ,
benefits of chair massage. i llm ° n P resi d
fne pilots
PANETfcjNk
1am
^ith Ante lie;
This ain't No Ordinary Dance CltfM eek > talks d
declared a st
Whether you have the groove or not,
this class is for You!
i mm**
Pistol Tournament Safl0am-4pm Sun. 2-4pm
Spend a day watching pistol shooting this Saturday and Sunday, February 22-23 at the Read Range.
Pump
n Some
Irem
TAMU Weightlifting Club
Private weight facilty located inside the Rec Center behind
the Indoor Soccer Courts.
$50/semester
$40 for first 50 members!
Chicken McNugget Extra
Value Meals!
6 piece McNuggets
9 piece McNuggets
20 piece McNuggets
CW// Eric Sonelrock for
more info at 693-7605.
$2.99
$3.59
$4.99
Available at:
All Bryan/College StaliK
McDonald's
Each meal includes large french fries & medium drink
You FHad Your Break Today?
Skin tta
couples
goes be)
of one's
Valid through: l/llffx
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