KANSAN
VOL.101,No.134
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 1991
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(USPS 650-640)
Time will tell effect of rail strike
By Patricia Rojas
Kansan staff writer
The nationwide railroad strike that began yesterday morning is bound to have a significant impact on Lawrence companies if it lasts more than a few days, some local merchants say.
Last night Congress passed a bill establishing an emergency board to clear the disputes and impose a settlement in 65 days.
The bill requires both the unions and railroads to follow the recommendations of the emergency board to reach an agreement by themselves.
President Bush signed the bill early this morning.
Justin Hill, vice president of the Lawrence Paper Co., 2801 Lakeview Road, said all of the company's paper came in by train.
Lawrence Paper Co. receives
Bush signs bill establishing emergency board to mediate and resolve dispute within 65 days
about five rail-car shipments of paper roll stock daily. Hill said. Because the company has some roll strike has not affected the business value.
But the supply in reserve will not last more than two or three weeks, Hill said.
"In some isolated grades of paper, we would be hurting in a matter of days," he said.
He said the company probably would start shipping in some raw material by truck if the railroads still not operating in about two weeks.
Eric Walther, director of corporate benefits at Packer Plastics Inc. .2330
NEWS:864-4810
"We do have an option of trucking in some of the goods, but it's more efficient than a rail," he said. "We could handle as much a two-or three-day strike."
Packer Road, said most of the company's raw material came by train.
Walther said that if the strike lasted more than three days, there would be a reduction in the company's operations.
He said the company did not yet have a plan to deal with a possible long-term railroad strike.
Paul Thompson, international vice president of the United Transportation Union's office in Kansas City, Kan., said the United Transportation
Union represented four workers from the Lawrence railroad station, 413 E. 7th St.
There are about 100 Lawrence residents who work in the railroad industry, either locally or in the Kansas City area. he said
Thompson said he had no guess as to how long the strike would last.
He said the union was waiting to see the results of Congress's media训
Mike Bush, Lawrence resident, is among the railroad employees affected by the strike. Bush works for the Railway, Kan., for the Saft Feira Railway.
He said that railroad employees
had been making wage concessions for the past 12 years and that now the companies were asking for health benefit cuts.
"We still have a decent health package," Bush said. "But we want to keep it. We want to be able to have that protection for our families."
He said railroad employees were often transporting materials, such as industrial chemicals and fertilizers, to their health if exposure occurred.
"Safety has to fit in somewhere," Bush said.
He said he did not think the railroad strike would last long, but he was pessimistic about the results for employees.
"Railroad companies will not negotiate in good faith with the workers, hoping that Congress will put us right where we are." Definitely that is what will happen.
Kansas lawmakers urge strike legislation
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Kansas lawmakers said yesterday they supported Congress's quick passage of legislation to end a national rail strike because a long disruption of freight routes is forcing waste and other industries in the state.
"The American people can't afford to have Congress go on strike too, in the face of a national emergency," Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole said in a speech on the chamber floor. "The rail industry has now shut down and we will very soon see the economic economy if we don't act now."
Both Dole and Rep. Jim Slattery, D-2nd District, said they expected
lawmakers to fashion the strike legislation around recommendations from a presidential emergency board, which issued a report in January for addressing major issues in the dispute.
"Now is the time for decisions," said Slattery, who serves on the House committee writing the strike-ending legislation.
Slattery said one of the most diffi- cult issues involved agreements on train-crew size. Unions contend rail proposals could cost 30,000 jobs. Dole said agriculture would be hit hard by a lengthy rail strike.
"This is the time of year when fabric is shipped for spring planting.
'The rail industry has now shut down, and we will very soon see the shutdown of the American economy if we don't act now.'
Bob Dole Senate Minority Leader
Senate Minority Leader
Congress avoid strike legislation that would hurt efforts in Kansas to find short-line companies to take over rail lines proposed for abandonment.
He expressed concerns that Congress might try to revamp current regulatory procedures in rail law for dealing with labor contracts when track is abandoned or sold. Slattery said he wanted to continue current provisions governing how the Interstate Commerce Commission dealt with labor protections in abandonments and short line purchases.
The issue of rail abandonments is important in Kansas because the Santa Fe Railway is considering the construction about 700 miles of track in Kansas.
Industry braced for rail strike
Goods shipped
Percent of goods shipped by rail (industries most affected by strike shown in parentheses)
Transportation 67%
equipment(Automotive)
equipment (Automotive)
Pulp, paper products(Paper) 60%
Lumber, wood products(Building) 53%
Chemicals 53%
Food products
Stone, clay. glass products
Major railroads affected*
Percent of U.S. rail freight
carried, 1989
32%
Burlington Northern 22.9%
Union Pacific 18.0%
CSX Corp. 14.5%
Norfolk Southern 9.9%
Santa Fe 8.2%
Conrail 8.1%
Southern Pacific 6.8%
Chicago and
Northern Western 2.7%
Illinois Central 1.7%
Kansas City Southern 1.1%
Kansas City Southern 1.1%
Annual revenue over $93.5 million; they are over 20% of all sales.
SOURCE: Association of American Railroads
Knight-Ridder Tribune New
Forces try to help Kurds keep dogs of war at bay
Hunger, cold and disease continue to thin ranks of those who have fled Iraq after Hussein moved to quash rebellion
The Associated Press
SIKVEREN, Turkey — Bedraggled Kurdish痒害 yesterday cheered the arrival of U.S. ground troops, who began scouting sites in northern Iraq for Western-supervised camps. But hunger, disease and cold took an ever-mounting toll of lives.
About 800,000 Kurds have fled Iraq for the safety of Turkey and its border, and nearly 1.5 million of Iraq's 4 million Kurds have sought safety in Iran and along its frontier, according to the latest estimates.
They began fleeing Iraq after Saddam Hussein's forces moved to crush them.
In the south, where Shiite Muslims also rebelled against Saddam's rule, 71,000 Shia troops fled to Iran. About a third of the population in a border zone in southern Iraq
U. S. forces yesterday completed their withdrawal from all of southern Iraq except the border zone. The remaining 18,000 troops will protect and feed the refugees until effective alternatives are found. U.S. military
The Pentagon said U.S. soldiers in northern Iraq would set up five or six
campins in an area of relatively flat terrain. They will be protected and run by U.S., British and French forces.
Once the sites are identified, construction of the tent camps will begin, and the hundreds of thousands of refugees will be encouraged to travel to the camp. The camps could be ready to provide food and medical aid within two weeks.
Pentagon representative Pete Williams said he could not estimate how many U.S. troops would be involved if the attackers capped that it would be at least 5,000.
At Isikveren, U.S. supply helicopters droned steadily above the camp yesterday. But the choppers were having trouble delivering aid because scores of refugee children swarmed below when they tried to
Williams also said a quick reaction force of U.S. Army and Marine Corps troops would be established at an undisclosed location in Turkey to power in the event that Iraq troopers to interfere with the relief effort
"They won't come in because the kids rush them," said Army Sgt.
Scott Grimm of Coquille, Ore., 31, a.
engineer. He said the military had
ordered a supply of concertina wire
that could block off the
landing zone.
The U.S. Turkish base at Incirik is coordinating the relief effort. Capt. Marcelle Adams, a representative at the refugees' aid of aid to the refugees were continuing.
U. S. BISH and French transport airplanes have dropped more than 1,500 tons of food, blankets and tents to the Gaza border country since April 7, she said.
Near the U.S. helicopter drop zone at Iskerven, there was a grim reminder that help was coming too late for many. A group of Kurds in northern Syria, the victim of the grueling exodus from Iraq and the harsh conditions in Turkey.
The makeshift cemetery was filled with about 150 horizontal mounds of sticky brown mud topped with stones. Most of the graves were less than 3 feet tall.
"There are many babies," said Gunn, the army sergeant. "We saw 16 in the front."
▶ See Nation/World Briefs Page 7
End of the road
Joseph J. Lies/KANSAN
An 18-wheel tractor trailer, owned by Builders Transport, crashed through the barriers at Sixth and Iowa streets at 11:30 last night. The driver apparently thought the road continued to the T-intersection, Lawrence police said. Peter Houston, a supervisor for the Douglas County Ambulance Service paramedics, said the driver was treated at the scene and was in stable condition.
'Dike noir' show entertains with mix of poetry, stories
Holly Hughes asked members of the audience whether they ever wondered if the worst were true.
By Benjamin W. Allen
Lesbian performer combines personal tales, observations
Kansan staff writer
Hughes, a combination actress,
performance artist and irreverent
comedian, appeared last night as
part of Gay and Lesbian Awareness
week in Downs auditorium at
Dvche Hall.
"That would mean the feminists and the born-agains are both right." she said.
Hughes, whose performance has been described as "dike noir," entertained a standing-room-only crowd of more than 220.
She created a collage of stories, poetry and candid asides for the
audience as she discussed lesbian experiences.
Her narrative often contained played-out conversations with her mother, and her demeanor kept the audience entertained. The stories were fictional or factual.
Her range of outrageous humor and sometimes emotion-packed drama kept the audience entertained for an hour and a half.
One of her stories began with her re-enacting dinners she and her mother ate at a Danny's restaurant amidst the smell of fresh Formica. Her mother asked her if she liked boys or girls or both.
"I leaned forward," she said,
"my nipples grazing the rampin-a-basket, and I said, "I like
both " "
She said the waitress overheard and brought her both the shrimp sauce and the tartar sauce.
In the midst of her performance, Hughes said, "If you came to see lies, you're out of luck."
In several asides to the audience, Hughes talked about the federal government and its attitude toward financing gay and lesbian art through National Endowment for the Arts grants.
Last year, Hughes lost an NEA grant after her work was deemed perverse.
Hughes recently was given another NEA grant.
After evaluating facts about Facts election commission fines coalition
Kansan staff writer
By Michael Christie
The Student Senate Elections Commission decided to restrict its penalties mostly to monetary fines, although it decided that major violations were committed by the Facts coalition.
Major violations are punishable by removal from office and a permanent bar from Senate.
The commission decided that members of Facts had committed three major violations during the campaign regarding its budget submission, use of 'table tents' and a pattern of minor violations.
"We haven't worked out the specifics, but the appeals process will
definitely be used," he said.
Facts, however, plans to appeal
Sacks' case. Facts from Paukak,
Sacks'代表ative.
Facts was fined $150 for about 60 minor violations and $103 for major violation.
The commission fined Facts $253 and Impact coalition $20
Appeals of the commission's ruling are sent to the University Judiciary, as is required by the University code.
In addition to its monetary fines, the Facts coalition is required to submit a report to the commission by April 26 that includes suggestions about how the election next year could be conducted more smoothly, said Curt Weingarner, commission chairperson.
The commission also fined Jason McIntosh, presidential candidate for Facts, $10 for being in violation of a state law while he was campaigning.
Mlmtosh, 20, said he was on camp after the Kansas-North Carolina game March 30 and was carrying beer. His statement was made in response to a charge that he was guilty to gain votes by giving beer to students.
The Facts coalition decided to drop its major violation charges of harassment and slander against Impact. In a letter to the commission, McIntosh said he did not want to appear in continuing with the allegations.
He said he had handed out beer only to people he knew that night.
"Student elections are designed to benefit the University community and all students, not to provide an individual running for office." he said.
As a result, the only major charge against Impact, which the commission filed, was that it had committed a pattern of minor violations.
Common minor violators were more than one campaign poster on a bulletin board and attaching two copies to together as one poster.
Upon deliberation, the commission decided that impact had not committed.
The commission certified the seats won by members of Impact and tentatively certified the seats won by the winning the completion of the penalties.