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Wednesday, June 3, 1992
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KU Information Summer Hours
Effective June 18, KU Information reduced summer hours:
7am-11pm
Call us for the facts: 864-3506
The audio components we stock are all "A-Stock units selected from our 106 "Award Winning" brands. Only a few audio stores in America can make this statement and virtually all of us are located in hi tech college towns. We search for the best schools with comparable units in their price class. Our prices range from modest value units (approx $175) to world class State-of-Art systems in excess of $50,000.
DOING BUSINESS WITH
KIEF'S AUDIO/VIDEO
THE EQUIPMENT
THE COMPANY
We are 34 people who try to make honest commercial sense. We sell what we modestly think are the best audio/video products; speakers, amplifiers, deck decks, cables, and compact disc players currently produced at very competitive prices. Our tape and CD selection is in fact "awe-some". We own and occupy one of Americas finest and largest specialty audio/video facilities, adjacent to the University of Kansas, in Lawrence, Ks. We are not aware of any one facility that has the depth of inventory, and number of quality lines to complement our innovative approach to display, demonstration and sales.
Tens of thousands of our customers over the past 32 years have graduated, and become professional athletes, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, etc. from all walks of life, yet many of them continue a business and social relationship with our people, our store, and the university. Many of our current clientele are now second generation and referral friends of our past satisfied customers. We always buy direct at maximum volume rebates yes, we pass on any savings to our customers, and provide a point of our pre-tax profits on environmental and social causes, not because its fashionable, but because we started doing so 32 years ago.
PURCHASING
Ask us if you have questions. Our people are knowledgeable, friendly and the students tell us our prices are nationally competitive. We have a tremendous array of instruments and other equipment in describing audio in a way that photography and specification sheets can not.
GTAs prepare for union vote, seek rights of public employees
October meeting to decide status of graduate assistants
by Ana Kostick
Kanean Staff Writer
KU graduate teaching assistants will spend the summer preparing for an October hearing that will determine whether they are eligible to form a union.
The biggest obstacle to forming the union stems from opposing views of the University administration and graduate students about GTAs employment status, said Dan Murtaugh, graduate teaching assistant in English and member of the Steering Committee for Graduate Employee Unionization. The KU administration had taken the position, contrary to that taken by student and faculty governing bodies, that graduate employees were not real employees and did not have the legal right to organize a union until they were recognized as public employees.
Under Kansas law, a group cannot vote to form a collective bargaining agent unless they are recognized as public employees.
A meeting in October with the Kansas Public Employee Relations Board will determine the graduate employees' status.
Unionizing would provide graduate student employees with the opportunity to lobby for higher salaries, increased health benefits, improved gravence procedures and multi-year renewable contracts if they are successful in forming a
The committee already had made progress by winning a 100-percent fee waiver authorized by the Kansis Legislation.
"This has clearly been a step forward with the fee waiver, but the progress is lagging far behind that at other universi-
In a written statement about the unionization of KU graduate employees, Dave Reidy, head of the graduate student steering committee, stated that graduate employees taught about half of the undergraduate course load, often putting in 20 or more hours per week.
"While pay equity largely motivates the current efforts to organize KU graduate employees, these efforts are consistent with a concern for higher education generally," Reidy stated. "The quality of both graduate and undergraduate programs at KU depends on attracting and retaining the best graduate student employees possible. KU simply cannot do this without paying a market wage."
According to data from the KU 'Office of Institutional Research and Planning, several of KU's peer institutions
Currently, KU offers a 9-month salary of $7,645 to halftime GTAs. The average salary ranks KU fifth on a list of six comparable schools, including the University of Colorado and the University of Oregon. Only the University of North Carolina, which offers no tuition waiver, ranks below KU on the list.
offer higher salaries and health insurance benefits to their GTAs.
The steering committee at KU was formed last fall, as a result of frustration, when efforts to increase health insurance benefits and competitive wages were ignored, Murtaugh said in another written statement.
The first step for the steering committee was to determine the interest of the GTAs, graduate research assistants and all other graduate student employees.
Murtaugh said the steering committee found that over 50 percent were interested.
The Kansas Public Employees Relations Board (KPERB) requires that 30 percent of a group show interest before the group can vote to form a union.
Unionization is the only form of organization that legally forces the University to bargain with graduate employees.
"This is truly a strong showing of solidarity among graduate employees, and a clear message to the Legislature and the Board of Regents that we intend to make ourselves heard." Murtaugh said.
Reedy said he was confident that the KPEER would recognize graduate student employees as public employees in
Howard Mossberg, vice chancellor for research, graduate studies and public service, said the administration shared the same concerns of the GTAs.
"There is little question that the concerns are legitimate." Mossberg said. "Resolutions are on both of our agendas."
He said the administration was preparing for the scheduled hearing in October with the KPERB to discuss the facts concerning the graduate employees' status.
"We see them as students first and employees second," Mossberg said. "Student status is the key because this is not a problem."
Mossberg said he thought the GTAs would have more success through the existing administration/student relationship than through unionization efforts.
Murtaugh agreed that the administration wanted to see progress made, but said they had "challenged our status as a state."
Murtaugh said the administration was in a difficult situation because it was forced to juggle budgetary concerns and not everyone with requests could be satisfied.
"We are not trying to undermine the administration's efforts, but if we improve our situation the University will improve as a whole," Murtaugh said.
The Associated Press
Bus crashes into casino, at least 13 injured
LAS VEGAS — Abus crashed into a casino restaurant last evening, injuring at least 13 people, authorities said.
The bus rammed into the side of the restaurant at the Barcelona Hotel-Casino, stopping nearly halfway inside the small building. Clark County fire department spokesperson BobLeinbachsaid
At least 13 people, including the bus driver, were taken to four hospitals. Their conditions were unknown, but none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening, paramedics said.
Most of those injured were inside the restaurant, Leimbach said. The bus driver was believed to be the only one on the bus. He was trapped for about 20 minutes before authorities could rescue him.