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Wednesday March 19,1997 Vol. CXXX, No. 39
Headlines
USC tops Titans in pitching duel
Trojan designated hitter Brian Poncnak broke a scoreless tie in the seventh inning to help lead the No. 9 USC baseball team to a 2-0 victory over No. 19 Cal State Fullerton Tuesday night.
Sports, page 20
Let your travel buck take you far
Costs for summer travel can quickly add up. Staff writers Melissa Chow and Micaela Rustia offer tips on working the system to your advantage when purchasing airline tickets.
Diversions, page 10
Equal treatment for all athletes
Teams like men's rugby that receive little or no support from the athletic department deserve more attention — editorial writer MikeGooley discusses his desire to play games on home turf.
Viewpoint, page 4
F.Y.I.
Volunteers sought, scholarship due
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is seeking applicants for volunteers who would like to be counselors at MDA summer camps.
Each volunteer acts as a companion to a child or teenager during a six day camp session.
For more information, call (310) 450-3103.
• • •
The deadline to apply for the Japanese Government Monbusho Scholarship for Japanese Studies is Friday, March 28.
To be eligible, applicants must be U.S. citizens and specializing in a field concerning Japanese language or culture.
To receive an application, contact lldiko M. Gedeon, Monbusho Scholarship Coordinator, Japan Information and Culture Center, Consulate General of Japan, 350 S. Grand Ave., Suite 1700, Los Angeles, CA 90071, or call (213)617-6700, ext. 341.
Newspaper of the University of Southern California
Dafyuojan
Workers vote to recognize union
By Elisa Ung
Assistant City Editor
University janitors voted to recognize Union Local 1877 as their representative in an election held Monday and Tuesday, officials said.
Out of the 190 janitors, 139 voted in the election, said Leticia Salcedo, lead organizer for the janitors at USC. One hundred and thirty-two voted yes, five voted no, and two votes were ruled invalid, Salcedo said.
Local 399 had previously represented both janitors and health care workers, but split into two divisions recently and now only represents health care workers, Salcedo said. The janitors who were previously affiliated with Local 399 will now merge with the statewide Local 1877,
Salcedo said.
After ServiceMaster said last month's janitor strike was motivated by a few workers who
supported the_
organization's efforts, janitors proposed a vote to show how many support the union cause,
Salcedo said.
"The question is answered now that a majority of the janitors do want representation," she said.
Janitors said they walked off their shifts last month in protest of what they called unfair labor practices allegedly committed by
The question is answered now that a majority of the janitors do want representation.
—Leticia Salcedo
ServiceMaster.
The janitors have been supported oy Union Local 399 since the subcontracting of their jobs _________ to ServiceMaster
last year, but have never voted to recognize the union as their official representative.
The election was monitored by about 15 community members, including representatives from the offices of Los Angeles City Council members Richard Alatorre and Mike Hernandez, and USC students and faculty,
Salcedo said.
Workers voted before their scheduled shifts at various sites around campus, she said.
The janitors hope the vote will lead to a contract with ServiceMaster, with benefits including a guaranteed living wage, union officials said.
Henry Lacher, director of custodial services for ServiceMaster at USC, said the university would not recognize the union as the representatives of the janitors because the election was not supervised by the National Labor Relations Board.
"The election that was held does not guarantee any secrecy—it is not an official and effective way to hold an election," Lacher said.
he said union members (See Janitors, page 13)
Lawsuit challenges salary changes
By Leilani Nisperos
Staff Wntor
Alleging breach of contract against USC, 23 faculty members at the School of Medicine have filed a $54 million lawsuit against the university that could affect professors throughout USC.
The professors filed the lawsuit in January 1997 because the university moved them from 12-month contracts to nine-month contracts, which would cut their pay by 25 percent.
Though the lawsuit stems from problems within tne medical school, some believe the outcome of the lawsuit is pivotal in creating the future definition of tenure for the 3,450 tenured and tenured-track faculty at USC.
Law professor Erwin Chemerinsky, who supports the lawsuit, said the court's decision will decide whether tenure protects pro fessors from economic reprisal by the univer-
sity.
il'
This case is important in terms of the
principle of tenure, and that concerns all faculty," said Chemerinsky, president of the Academic Senate, who added that he was not speaking on behalf of the senate.
However, Provost Lloyd Armstrong said he believes the lawsuit will have very little impact on the rest of the university because the medical school is a unique environment. The controversy is centered around budget restrictions specific to the school.
"There is no other division of the university with that kind of budget constraints," Armstrong said.
The provost said he believes the faculty and administration can work together to find an alternative solution to the problems at the heart of the lawsuit.
"1 would hope that the lawsuit does not ever go to court," Armstrong said.
At the same time, both sides are preparing for a legal battle in a case that could go to trial later this year.
"I'm very confident that we're going to win this lawsuit," said Jeffrey Kramer, the
firofessors' attorney, who works with the irm of Troy & Gould.
The $54 million the faculty are asking for is based in part on pay lost because they claim to have received fewer pay increases than faculty at other schools. The figure also includes total salaries for all plaintiffs from now until their estimated date of retirement.
School of Medicine
First of two parts
The controversy preceding the lawsuit began in 1991, when the medical school reported a budget deficit of $7.2 million following the opening of the university hospital. The deficit continued to grow in the following years.
When the medical school faced an $11.2 million deficit during the 1994-95 fiscal year, its attempts to balance its budget included (See Lawsuit, page 2)
An apple for teacher
Katharine Lambert / Daily Itojan
Business students taka time out on Tuesday to nominate a favorite professor for a Golden Apple Award.
LAS official will leave post in July
By Courtney Adams
Staff Writer
Nancy Vickers, dean of curriculum and instruction at the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, will leave her post to become the seventh president of Bryn Mawr College in July.
"It is rare to find a scholar as distinguished and as productive as Nancy who is also such a talented administrator," said Morton Schapiro, dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
While serving as one of four deans in the College, Vickers has been instrumental in large projects, colleagues said.
"Her brilliant overhaul of the general education program taken by all undergraduates at USC is a perfect example of her ability to get things done," Schapiro said.
Vickers spearheaded the renovation of the language lab in Taper Hall.
'She thought of everything, from the latest technology to the physical comfort of the stu-
Flle photo I Dally Trojan Nancy Vickers
dents," Schapiro said.
"Nancy nas many great strengths. She always approaches situations with intelligence and good humor, " said Jane Cody, associate dean at LAS.
A search committee is currently looking for her successor, who Vickers recommended should have "persistence and patience."
"Just keep moving ahead," Vickers said. "Otten I'm approaching a situation with
(See Vickers, page 13)