Plant Services Steward discusses strike by Jacq ueline O ’N eill Ed itor in C h ief
Although the strike by Plant Serivces ended on September 13. many students and faculty are confused about the events which took place before and during the event. The Plant Services Steward. Mark S. Ferguson, was available to give an indepth discussion clarifing some of the rumors that circulated around campus about what led up to the deci sion to go on strike by 66 workers on September 7. He felt that the view point of the workers had not been adequately stated in the media or by the school. The main sticking point revolved around the Health Benefit package offered by the administration. Over the past 10 years, there have been several contracts, usually lasting for 2 years each. The school paid a certain amount of the workers' health insur ance premiums, using a simple for mula. As each contract expired, and a new one was ratified, the percent the college paid toward the Plant Serivces workers' health insurance premiums rose. When it came time for the 1983
- 1986 contract to be discussed, the school change.cj the formula. No longer was it simple to calculate what the school paid. The new method was for the school to take 60 percent of the total amount of the Blue Cross Blue Shield premium, and pay that amount for every worker no matter what plan he or she was on. (There are four health insurance companies presently being used: Fallon. Central Massachusetts. Memorial Health and Blue Cross. The majority of the workers are on the Central Massachusetts plan, which is less expensive than the Blue Cross plan.) This new method meant that if. for example, the Blue Cross premium was S I00 a month, the school would pay S60 (60 percent) for each em ployee. no matter which plan he or she was on. Each of the other plans are less expensive than Blue Cross, so 60 percent of the Blue Cross premium is greater than 60 percent of any of the other premiums. The union felt that this was a pretty good deal. Mid stream. the administration tried to go from using the Blue Cross Master Medical plan to the less expensive Blue Cross Master Health plan. This
meant that the 60 percent would be a smaller dollar value. It was also a violation of the contract, so a grievenee was filed by the Union. Filing a grievence is a three step process. The first step require that the grievence be sent to the supervisor of the workers complaining. The super visor felt that there was no basis for grievence. so step two took place -the grievence was sent to the Vice Presi dent of Plant Services. John Miller. He too said there was no basis for grievence. It was then sent to Roger Albrecht, the Director of Human Resources. Again he saw no basis for grievence. The Union then decided to go to Arbitration. After the Arbitration Hearing, the Arbitrator decided in favor of the Union, and the school reinstated the Union and repaid the insurance money. When the 1983-1986 contract expired, the "Company", as Ferguson refers to the administration, wanted to drop the Master Medical plan, which it called a dinosaur, and go to the Master Health plan. The difference in this new plan as opposed to the Master Medical plan is that if a worker gets
sick, before he or she can have treat ment. a second opinion must be sought. Master Medical did not re quire this. Master Health was a "step down" both economically (when con sidering the "formula") and for the worker who had used Blue Cross Master Medical and had to change to Master Health. However, the union accepted this with the provision that after the first year, from July I 1987 to June 30 1988. the school would pay the equivalent to an average percent age increase of the 4 available plans. A memo was sent out on June 3. 1987 to update the workers on what the changes had been in the rales of the 4 available plans, and to remind the workers to make any switches in health plans after reviewing the pre mium increases. Increases in Blue Cross Blue Shield for the W PI Plant Services workers who are on it are caused by an increase in use by them over the year. The increase in the other plans reflect an increase in the Worcester Area, not just by WPI. The memo states that the following in creases were found: BC/BS (2530f/r). Memorial Health (\ \ c/t). Fal lon Community Health Plan H .l'/ i).
and Central Mass Health Care (1.2% ). It also states that "Increases, such as shown in BC/BS. reflect an actual history of substantially higher usage by W PI members, at an annual rate of increase exceeding 40%." If an average is taken of the per centage increase in the four plans, the answer is I2c/r. However, in the memo, an increase of 7.5c/r is given, which is a weighted average of the increases. This means that the in crease is multiplied by the number of workers in each plan, then averaged together. Ferguson sees this deviation from the contract as "premeditated" and said that a grievence was filed on January 27 of this year. After all the paper work was completed, an Arbi tration hearing was set for August 25. Each side allowed only one opportu nity to change the arbitration date, which the school did. The new hear ing was set for September 9. 1988. It has not yet been settled. During this disagreement, the contract had expired, and meetings were set up to discuss a new contract. These meetings did not become prosee "W e didn't lose", page 2
The Student Newspaper of W orcester Polytechnic Institute
Volume 16, Num ber 18
Tuesday, Septem ber 27, 1988
Strauss talks about future by Je ffre y Coy Features Ed itor
Those who pay to keep this school going were treated to a Parents Day speech by President Jon Strauss on the topic of “ W PI Today and Tomorrow". Covering areas as dissimilar as tui tion. foriegn students, and the Greek system, Strauss attempted to paint a picture of where the Institute w ill find itself in five or ten or twenty years. Speaking on the W PI of today, Strauss stressed undergraduate in volvement in projects on technology's cutting edge. He gave as an example Professor Dan Gibson's work involving horseshoe crabs and their application to blood purification techniques. W PI is one of the only schools where a student, perhaps in volved in MQP work, can be involved with publishable scholarship. In a generalized sense, Strauss sees W PI moving away from the
image of a small, regional, special ized institution. The school hopes to continue its policy of national recruit ing. bringing students to W PI from as far away as Colorado. Hawaii, and Ohio. The graduate program is also targeted for expansion. Presently. Strauss said, the program has only about 350 full time students. He would like to see that number in crease. The face of the campus too will be changing in the coming years. Alden Hall is slated for renovation as the future home of the Humanities De partment. allowing the Biology De partment more room in Salisbury Labs. Currently under consideration is a plan to renovate the Project Center and make it a Student Union. “ We have first rate opportunities for stu dent activities." Strauss said, "but they're scattered all over campus. The proposed student center would consolidate these activities and also make available more space for student
activity offices. On the question of cost. Strauss stressed that "Quality has to be our first issue. Competition isn’t based on price. We compete solely on quality." He noted, though, that in the past ten years, the cost of education at W PI has risen 4 points faster than the CPI (Consumer Price Index). However, he assured, the result is worth the parents' burden. In response lo a question concern ing W PI's Greek community. Strauss called Fraternities and Sororities "a vital adjunct to W P I." However, he voiced hopes that the Greek system will move into a more independent role in the W PI community. In en couraging them to step up to their responsibilities. Strauss challenged them to "rise to their own leadership potential." And in the coming years and dec ades. Strauss also hopes that W PI and and its faculty and students can like wise rise to their full potential.
Assaults spark concern W PI Campus Police have been informed that there have been several sexual assaults in the peripheral areas of the W PI campus. Although none of the attacks involved W PI students or stall, we want to reiterate the importance of taking extra precautions both on and around the campus. The assailant has been described as a white male. 25-35 years old. 5' I I ”, weighing 160 lbs. He has light eyes, blond hair and is of average build. The assailant may he wearing glasses and was last seen wearing a charcoal grey waist length jacket, jeans and sneakers. He was reported to have smelled strongly from colosine. The following safety recommendations are presented for your informa tion. Police is open 24 hours per day. Report any suspicious persons or behavior by calling 831-5555. Utilize Escort Services by calling 831-5433. Avoid walking alone after dark and through the morning hours. If you are in a college facility in the evening notify campus police of your location by calling 831-5433. In your residence hall or off campus apartment, make sure internal and external doors are secured.
C am p u s
The Dean of Students office and campus police will keep you informed as more information becomes available.
Vonnegut speaks at WPI (ieorge Regnery Newspeak Staff
N K W SPK A K ST A F F PHOTO/JONATHAN K K K M H
Hypnotist Jam es Mapes amazes and entertains both students and parents on Parent's Day. This is Mapes' third show* at W P I. 1
Kurt Vonnegut. celebrity, scholar, and author of many acclaimed literary works, including Slaughterhouse Five and Cat s Cradle, spoke at W PI on the eve of Parents Day. The subject of the speech was "How to get a job like mine." Vonnegut said little on that actual subject, however, and instead talked more about current issues. Vonnegut was lightly humorous, yet not overly so. He kept his audi ence interested, and virtually every one seemed to enjoy the speech. Vonnegut is politically liberal. In the speech he endorsed both Mike Dukakis and the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), saying that every American should say "Thank God for the A C LU ." The ACLU has been called "the criminal's lobby" by Conservatives and "Defender of Lib erty" by many liberals (it has con tested many forms of censorship under the first amendment). Michael Dukakis is a card carrying member of the ACLU. and Bush said that this proves Dukakis is not in the main stream of American political thought. Vorirfegut said of Bush's complaints
about the ACLU. " I wonder about people from Yale." The comment elicited many chuckles from the audi ence. Vonnegut also made reference lo the Pledge of Allegience, which has also become a campaign issue, be cause Mike Dukakis vetoed a bill in Massachussetts that would require teachers to lead the Pledge in class. This has prompted Bush to say the Pledge before saying many speeches and even to visit a (lag factory. At the beginning of his speech. Vonnegut said he was going to lead us in the Pledge, but "W e might not cooper ate." He said he did it when he grew up in Indiana, and it didn't hurt him. He joked that ever since “ under God” had been added things had gone better in this country- for one thing, the hydrogen bomb replaced the atom bomb. Of prayer in public school, he also asked sarcastically what would be bad about saying a few Hail Mary's each day in school, and “ What nut would object to that?” Vonnegut said that he thought George Bush would win the election, but he offered a speech for Dukakis to see Vonnegut, page 2