European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 10, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday March 10, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 5 be strikers say they deserve a Little respect Boston a the 7,400 general electric co. Workers on strike at three Massachusetts plants Aren t seeking the usual More Money or greater benefits. They re looking for a change in management attitudes leaders say. The Issue of the strike is really respect being treated like people not like machines said Ronald Malloy business agent for local 201 of the International Union of electronic electrical technical salaried and machine workers. One expert says the problems faced by the Union stewards Are part of the changing relationship Between unions and manage ment. Malloy claims company foremen treat the Union s shop stewards with disrespect. In addition he says the Union wants an Swers to what it says Are simple questions about company policy. The strike which began feb. 21, has halted work on More than $1 billion Worth of contracts to build engines for f-18 jets army helicopters and other military air Craft. A state labor official predicted it would begin to Hurt the area s Economy this week As the strikers curtail their spending. The workers at the Lynn Everett and Medford plants walked out after the com Pany suspended a Union Steward who Alleg edly swore at a Foreman As the two argued Over which workers were entitled to Over time. Union officials say that was just the final Straw. The underlying cause of this action is that the grievance procedure our problem solving system has completely broken Down said Kevin Mahar president of local 201. He said the company has refused to allow its foremen to solve simple grievances with stewards and instead has said they must go through the formal grievance procedure. The Union says there Are about 300 cases pending. General electric officials have contended the backlog of grievances has been addressed in talks. Be spokesman William Kennedy could not be reached for comment and did not return Calls when messages were left at his office. Union spokeswoman Alexandra Brown said negotiations resumed saturday. Malloy said the Issue of whether Stew Ards can handle simple grievances Over con tract matters is crucial because they Are the spokespersons for people on the shop  f local 201 has about 220 stewards at the three plants he said. Each is elected for two years by the workers they represent usually about 50 employees each. The stewards historically have been considered the Backbone of the Union Malloy said. But that role is changing As the rigid lines Between Union and management Are softening said Robert Mckersie a professor of Industrial relations at Massachusetts Institute of technology. I think the strike illustrates that the role of the Steward today is under a lot of pres sure he said. Mckersie said companies increasingly Are communicating directly with workers instead of going through the Union. He said this is fostered by pressure on government contractors to increase productivity and keep strict accounting of costs. He said the be strike was an unusual Case. We re in a period where issues that have to do with settling grievances How problems Are settled under a contract arc pretty Well worked out he said. Malloy agreed the reasons for the strike might be unusual but said nevertheless the workers Are solidly behind it. Members voted by a 4-1 margin last week in support of continuing the walkout. The Union claims it is not Clear who rep resents the company when the Union needs an answer on company policy and that it got different answers from different officials. Malloy said that Issue has been clarified in negotiations. Paul j. Eustace the state s Secretary of labor said the strike was costing the North Shore area North of Boston about $2.4 Mil lion a week in lost income. The strikers receive about $60 a week in Union benefits the Union said. Court proposed to hear social Security appeals Washington not the Reagan administration wants to establish a new court to hear the thousands of cases filed each year by people who con tend they have been improperly denied social Security retirement or disability benefits. Officials from the Justice department and the department of health and human services said they had drafted legislation to create such a court. They said president Reagan plans to Send it to Congress after clearance from the of fice of management and budget. These officials said a new tribunal was needed because the regular Federal courts had been deluged with cases filed by people removed from the social Security disability Rolls. A court specializing in social Security could reduce the backlog relieve the Burden on other courts and provide greater uniformity in interpreting the Complex social Security Laws they said. When told about the proposal which has not been made Public lawyers for the disabled criticized it As unnecessary and As perhaps impeding the ability of needy people to protect their rights under social Security. The plan would take away the Power of Federal District courts and most Feder Al appeals courts to hear social Security cases. The administration has often complained that these courts award benefits to people who Are not truly disabled. The judges for their part have criticized social Security officials be cause they sometimes refuse to accept court rulings As precedents for similar cases. Social Security taxes maximum annual wages taxed in thousands of dollars 10 1976 78 80 82 84 86 Chicago Tribune graphic source . Dept. At health and human services there were 52,795 social Security cases pending in the 94 Federal District courts at the end of december Accord ing to the social Security administration. The number has More than Dou bled since the end of 1982. About 3.9 million people receive monthly Cash benefits in the social Security disability program. At present there Are 531 Federal District judges All with life tenure. Under the administration proposal the social Security court would have 30 judges serving 10-year terms. Roadside Cross builder Dies in Kentucky at Middlesboro by. A Harri son Mayes a retired Coal Miner who erected crosses on roadsides in All 50 states in what he said was an Effort to repay god for saving his life has died at age 88. Mayes who died Friday at Community Hospital had vowed to continue planting the wooden Concrete and Metal crosses until people in All lands and planets have been told the word of  he received practically no financial or physical support from others for his Mission and supported himself and his wife Lillie on his Miner s retirement Check. Mayes started his religious projects in 1918 after he survived a Coal mine Accident near Fork Ridge Tenn. I was saved from an Accident by the lord and i figured i would devote the rest of my life to warning others to follow his word Mayes said. He once said he belonged to no particular Church. I m a Good Catholic jew protestant i follow the Best parts of each he said in 1973. At one time he shipped hundreds of bottles containing religious messages to Post masters in 12 coastal cities for dumping into the Ocean. The University of Tennessee s language department translated the phrases into for eign languages for Mayes who said he later got responses from people around the world. Mayes also sent crosses to missionaries in 82 foreign nations. Mayes had Given one of his sons the mid dle name of Asia and nicknamed grand children after planets said a daughter Ruth Beeler. The Way we figure it Mayes said is that each of the children is responsible for putting up signs on the planets they Are named after. I think interplanetary space travel will be pretty common by the year 2020, so i m just planning  other survivors include two sons a daughter 18 grandchildren 34 great grandchildren and seven great great grand children. Funeral services were scheduled for monday. Sands of time in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. March 10, 1946 foreign countries have no right to interfere in Spain s internal affairs the Franco Cabinet warned in a communique issued in Madrid. 30 years ago today March 10, 1956 Britain deported archbishop Makarios from Cyprus and deployed troops to wipe out pro greek terror ism in the British Colony. 20 years ago today. March 10, 1966 in Paris president Charles de Gaulle has abandoned efforts to negotiate reforms in nato and will go ahead with his plans to pull France out of the Alliance French officials announced. 10 years ago today. March 10, 1976 women s libbers communists militant Blacks and jews and tax protesters were among the targets of Domestic wiretap and surveillance operations conducted by the Fri and irs according to the Senate intelligence commit tee. Judge dismisses executives manslaughter charges Toms River . A two executives of the great adventure theme Park who were assigned to Community service after a fire that killed eight youths per formed so Well a judge dismissed Man Slaughter charges against them. David Paltzik of Toms River and Larry Cochran of Chicago not Only successfully completed the probationary program but their work was described As outstanding and spectacular Superior court judge Eugene d. Serpentelli said Friday in Dis missing the charges. The men had entered the so called pretrial intervention program to avoid standing trial on charges stemming from the May 11,1984, fire. The program allowed the charges to be dropped once the men had performed a required amount of Community service. By entering the program they did not admit any wrongdoing. Great adventure inc. And its corporate Par ent six flags corp. Of Chicago were acquitted of manslaughter and aggravated Man Slaughter charges in connection with the fire. Paltzik was ordered to serve 250 hours of Community service while Cochran was sentenced to a minimum of 300 hours of serv ice. Both said they would continue to work for some of the charitable groups to which they were assigned. They worked for boy scouts organizations and for a group representing Burn Vic Tims As Well As for other organizations. Paltzik Cochran and the two corporations were indicted on manslaughter charges in september 1984, four months after the eight people died in a haunted Castle attraction at the amusement Park. Authorities determined the Blaze was started accidentally by a teen Ager who flicked a cigarette lighter inside the dimly lit attraction. Cochran was general manager of the Park from oct. 13, 1977, to sept. 6, 1982. He now is executive vice president of six flags. Paltzik replaced Cochran As great adventure general manager. Investigators have said the haunted Castle seemed to have a number of safety violations including a Lack of proper build ing permits and sprinklers. Meanwhile Cochran and Paltzik and the two companies face wrongful death suits filed by family members of the victims