OCR Text |
Show Postal Officials See Local Walkout as Unlikely By ROD COLLETT Herald Staff Writer Postmasters in Provo and Orem say they would be “very surprised" if employees walked off the job if a nationwide postal strike was called by the major unions Acting Provo Postmaster Steve Johnson and Orem Postmaster Dan Kirzman said employees in both offices are aware of the consequences ofgoing on strike because of agree ments each worker signed when hired Johnson said there are four separate unionswithinthepostal system including the mail handlers,clerks, rural letter carTiers union and the National Association of Letter Carriers which represent mailmen within large cities. Hesaid the latest word from Washington is that negotiations between the mail handlers and rural carriers are close to a set tlement Johnson, in Provo, said he ing it is ing their risk illegal and th Hesaid the hiring agre uni S the next procedure binding rbitration which av thenecessity of a strike. Johnson said theentire nat would be th e loser in any precedent allowing thepress to talk to employees while they are working Instead. he gave Provo employees were tofollow I would be surprised if our ‘The important thing to remember is that if there is an Look at what is happening in Canada. Their postal employees Impasse on the negotiations between the government and the three weeks. would be very surprised in the a strike from — sinceit i the national union gal people walked off the job. know becau they are publi Id the namesof union a nationwide wall have been on strike for the past We now have Johnson said he was not awareof embarg signed by all postal e nloyees strike States they will not arte an after regular employ business hours When asked if The He could talk to some of t employees at the Provo office General William Bolger has made it “very plain” to all nationwide postal employees that they faceloss of their jobs i they ‘Hangups’Foil Postal Settlement WASHINGTON (UPI) — A tentative agreement collapsed early today, but marathon talks continued to avert a nationwide strike by 500,000 postal workers and one union leader said he would not sleep “‘until I get a con- tract.” Union officials urged mem- berstostay on the job until hear ing further word leadership from their Shortlyafter noon, Letter Car riers President Sombrotto told reporters the negotiations recessed bnefly and little progress was being made We are not anycloser than we were at 6 a.m Sombrotto said There are some hangups But he added I am not going to go to sleep until I get a con tract Four hours after a Monday midnight strike deadline Sombrotto and American Postal Krizman said Postmaster strike echoed Johnson's com: in saying the Orem joyees probably will not go onstrike even if one werecal. Workers President MoeBiller is * If ing to membersthe basicdetails of a three-year tentativesettle. our people still came to work, sueda telephone messageoutlin ment. But shortly after 7 am EDT. the union officials — saying they had been had reported the situation had changed a strike were called, and there would not be any mail to process anyway He said 70 of Orem's postal employees have a meeting at 5 p.m. this afternoon to discuss the negotiations in Washington Summit Partners Grudgingly Give OK to Reagan Plan MONTEBELLO, Quebec (U Leaders of seven of the td's in dustralized democracies convenedin a final round-table discussion today with President Reagan gaining grudging approval for his “courageousefforts” to improve the U.S. economy. Ending two days of economic talks that Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau conceded wereall ‘‘not sweetness and light.’ the leaders discussed East-West trade and final wording of the communique before headingto Ottawa for a reception by Governor General Edward Schreyer. Reagan held a breakfast meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki and a White House aide reported the Japanese leader told Reagan that “relations between the United States and Japan have never been better.” White House counsellor Edwin Meese said in a television interview that Reaganfeels the other leaders understandthe record U.S.interest rates and “praised him for his courageous efforts to improvethe economy.” in a briefing for reporters, anvtier pet 108TH YEAR, NO. 306 PROVO, UTAH, TUESDAY, JULY21, 1981 $5.50 MONTH—PRICE 25 CENTS aide said the allied leaders supported Reagan's move to suspend shipmentof F16 jet fighters to Israel — an action that has overshadowed much of the economictalks. “T think there was general approbation of the president's decision,” the senior White House aide said. He added that Reagan was ‘‘very pleased” with the results of the two-day summittalks of leaders of Canada, West Germany. France, Japan, Italy, Britain and the United States. At least half of the 16 hours of meetings held at the countryretreat were dominated by the fighting between Palestinian commandos and Israelis in southem Lebanon. Trudeau read a statement by the nations attending the summit at Montebello backing the United States and appealing to Israel and the Palestinians to end the fighting. Training School Joins Days of ‘47 AMERICAN FORK — The Days of ‘47 parade committee hasinvited the Utah State Training School to participate in the July 24 parade, one of the nation’s largest. Superintendent Leonard W. Lavis says the schoo! has accepted theinvitation and has chosen the theme “Carousel of Progress’’ forits float. Thefloat is designed to pay tribute to Utah for 50 years of love and care to its handicapped-disabled population, and to display the feo ess madesince the training school was built. Different sections will depict progress in vocation, education, recreation, medicine andin the care of the residents at the school. Thefloat will be a large cake and wheelchairs will be decorated as wagons, hand-carts, and Model-T’s to capture time period of pioneer days to the present. Approximately 50 residents and 50 staff members will participate. The school rhythm band will ride on the float. As grand marshals at the Children's Paradein Provoon July 3 and as honorary grand marshals at the Freedom Festival Parade on July 4, the USTSparticipants were greeted with enthusiastic applause. Manyspectatorsoffered a standing ovation as the residents waved from their wheelchairs, Lavis says. This positive response was a “thrilling experience” for both the residents and staff, he says. Tuesday: Injured Man a Geneva Worker On Monday some news mediaincorrectly identified the victim of a serious boating accident as a BYU football player. The injured man, however, is Geneva Steel worker Bruce Hansen of American Fork He underwent several hours of reconstructive surgery after the ac- cident. See story on Page 4 Nerve Gas Transfer Begins Soon The transfer of nearly 900 deadly nerve gas bombs to Utah begins soon. Currently, the bombs are stored at the Rocky Mountain Arsenai, Denver, Colo. The weteyes will be shipped to Tooele Army Depot by Oct. 10, according to an arsenal official. No specific date has been announced for the transfer to begin, but the official said it would begin in the ‘‘near future.” See story on Page 9. Women Encourage an Education Many womensay their struggle for more education was worth the price. Their goal was not without sacrifice, namely, time and per- sonal interests. School cannotbe added unless some other activity is dropped, says one woman. Four women tell of their school experiences and advise the woman whoconsiders furthering her education to do it. The continuing series about womenis on Page 14. Baseball Strike Hits 40th Day The baseball strike by major leagueballplayersis in the 40th day and negotiations in Washington, D.C., are continuing, but a media blackout stiupulation has been im- posed. For this and other stories, including a roundup of the football camps in the National Football League, are on Page6. Expect Some Cloudiness artly cloudy skies are forecast for Wednesday in the Central Utah area. Overnight lows are expected to be near 60 with highs Wednesday 95 to 100. Additional Utah weatherinformation is on Page 4. A national weather story and temperatures are on Page8, aad 10 18-23 lS 4 National-International Pi: r Buses WhereToFindIt Amusements .. Business .. Classified Ads Comics ..... Community Notes . Crossword School residents put final touches on float. Two Senators Slow Approvalfor Rex Lee By JEFF MAPES Herald Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON — Two prominent Democratic senatorssay theywill actively oppose Provoan Rex E,Lee’s confirmation assolicitor general, but Sen Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) predicted that Lee willeasily be approved bythe Republican-dominated Senate. Sens. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Howard Metzenbaum ofOhio blocked an attemptto have Lee’s nomination placed on a consentcalendar where it would have been routinely confirmed today by a voice vote on the Senate. The two strongly-liberal senators signaled their intention to attack Lee, deanof the Brigham Young University Law School, on the floor of the Senate for his opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment. As solicitor general, Lee would represent the federal governmentbefore the Supreme Court Lee's book on the ERA ‘‘at the least showsa lack of sympathy and, in some respect. hostility, to women’srights,’ Metzenbaumsaid in a statement “His record also shows no particular concern for the overall issue of civil rights.”’ Hatch spokesman Paul Smith said the attack on Lee is little more than bluster and that ‘Orrin thinks (the nomination) will sail through ... they have to just wait until Kennedy and Metzenbaum get through making their speeches.” The twosenatorsjust ‘‘wanttoplaypolitics and talk about the ERAonthefloorof the senate and satisfy their ERA constitutents,”’ Smith charged. Lee has maintained that heis for equal rights for womenandthathis opposition to the ERA is based on the unintended bad effects the proposed constitutional amendmentcould causeif enacted. The Senate is expected to consider his nomination next week, Smith said Israel Rejects Direct Negotiations With PLO By United PressInternational Israel today rejected direct negotiations with the PLO in quest of a cease-fire in Lebanon and an Israeli official said his country was unhappy that President Reagan halted delivery of U.S. warplanes. ee As Deputy Defense Minister Mordechai Zippori emerged from five-hour Cabinet meeting called by Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Jerusalem, more Soviet-made rockets fired by Palestinians from Lebanonhit northern Israeli towns Turning to the continued embargo of F-16 deliveries, Zippori said, ‘I am very unhappy, but I hope weshall overcomeit andthis thing wil! be settled. It is not a crisis.” Zippori nevertheless said he hoped the “legitimate argument’ with the United States would be overcomeandif the Lebanese authorities approachIsraelfor talks on a cease-fire, “we will be very glad to doit (talk).”’ As to U.S. Envoy Philip Habib's proposal to negotiate an immediate truce in the escalating border warfare between Israel and the Palestinian guerrillas based in Lebanon, Zippori said “The PLO hasn't been a partner with usfor discussions and it will never be. “So if the authorities in Lebanon will approach us for somekind of discussions. we will discuss it. We have nothing in common with the PLO andweshall not have,’’ he said. At the northern border, Soviet-made Katyusha rocketsfired from Lebanonhit the northern coastal town of Nahariya and the northern settlementof Moshav, One person was slightly injured, the Israeli military command said Israeli Radio also reported new Palestinian shelling of northern Galilee. The radio said there were some casualties. but offered no further details Cost-of-Living Issue Chief Block to Local Teacher Pacts By DAVE HEYLEN Herald Staff Writer The amountof a cost ofliving in creasecontinuestobethe central is sue stopping teachers and school districts from reaching settlement Teachers want a 12.7 percent wagehike but most boardsof educa tion are holding to a flat 6 percent proposal. Only one local district, Juab, has reached a settlement. In Juab District, both sides agreed to an 8.5 percent salary increase District Supt. M. Clark Newell says the increase actuallyis 11.2 whenall the benefits are added. While Juab District can rest easy after clearing the difficult hurdle, other districts along the Wasatch Front continue to negotiate “We are still in a fact finding mode," says Kay Larsen, president of the Provo Education Association “The district is digging up background informationfor us right now.” Larson blames the state legislature for negotiation problems. “Thestate really hurt us badly,”’ Larson says. ‘They must not care about the quality of education in the districts. You can't cut the education budget in half and still expect quality teaching.’ Provo District is offering a 6 percent cost ofliving increase, similiar to mostdistricts in the state. Nebodistrict is ina similiar situation. Both teams have reachedtentative agreementsin all negotiation areas exceptsalary. Administrative Assistant Omar Hansen said the two Nebo negotiating teams were having a crucial meeting today Contract talks in Alpine, Sanpete and Wasatch also havestalled because of the cost-of-living in crease issue. Negotiators would not speculate at when an agreement would be reached “Right now wejust don't know when an agreement will be reached,’ Larson said. ‘‘I would need a crystal ball to know that answer.” Twelvedistricts in the state have reached settlement. Contract talks between the ‘Salt Lake City School District and the union representing its teachers havestalled and the two sides have agreed to mediatiation in the impasse. The district says i offered teachers an 8 percent salary increase One negotiator sa localdistricts inc centfigure be the money, he teachers have received a ‘‘double whamy”’ because districts don't have the money and legislators won't give them any. |