European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 10, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes sunday september 10,1989 business news Central Banks stave off climb of . Dollar not yet Dollar watchers. The Buck remained below the 2-Mark level when the rate was set Friday afternoon. And if it docs eventually reach that seemingly magic Mark Don t expect it to stay there Long experts said. When a do in or so Central Banks began Selling Large amounts of dollars last week their action curbed what has been a Rise of fits and starts for the past month. The military Exchange rate was 1.83 in Early August but Rose to 1.97 last week. Without intervention we would have Al ready been above 2," said Gunter Tucich of the Bank of Boston in Frankfurt West Germany. Joining the Selloff were the . Federal re serve and the Central Banks of West Germany Britain France Denmark Belgium Austria Switzerland Portugal Italy and others. When the Dollar comes close to 1.99, there is Central ban intervention said by Ron Jensen Tucich. Stating a tru ism of International currency trading. The Dollar Rale this weekend is Down one Pfenning from Fri Day. The rate of Exchange for the military through monday will be 1.96. In London one British Pound was Selling for $ 1.57 on Friday afternoon. Tucich said the reason for the monthlong climb was the political climate in West Germany and Japan. West Germany Wil hold elections in Decem Ber 1990, and a change in the government is expected he said. I think foreign investors Sec that Tucich said. Japan has been shaken by scandals at the upper Levels of its government. Sexual affairs have made the front pages an unheard of event in the past. Everybody did it but nobody said anything about it Tucich laughed. Michael Koch treasurer with the Bank of America in Frankfurt predicts the Dollar will make a Short term Rise but a Long term fall. Perhaps the Dollar will top the 2-Mark level possibly climbing to 2.0s or 2.10, Koch said. But that won t last for Long he said i think the fundamentals will be right in the future so that we will Sec a lower Dollar he said. He said 1.75 to 1.85 is probably a More reasonable rate. Friday s trading was described As quiet. Be fore jumping into the fray traders arc waiting for a Buffet of economic news expected to be released this week. Among the statistics to be released in the United slates this week arc the nation s Mer Chandise Trade picture producer prices business inventories Industrial products figures capacity utilization and retail sales figures. Tom 8ur fld ship fat mbb""5 sex Glass i workers claim age discrimination by Randy Mcclain financial writer five army class i employees Laid off when their Agency was taken Over in March by the Exchange serv ice Are pursuing an age discrimination complaint against the military saying their dismissals were improper and a violation of Federal Law. The employees All of whom Are Over the minimum age of 40 required for Protection under Federal statutes on age discrimination have hired a civilian lawyer in an attempt to win Back their jobs or collect a total of $175,715 in additional separation pay if they re not rehired. The workers arc Harold d. Simpson the former director of army class i stores Heinz j. Eggler the one time special assistant to Simpson William Bowen former area manager for class i in Frankfurt West Germany Vincent Chircop former area manager in Mannheim West Germany and Richard Cullen for Mer assistant area manager in Gic Ssan West Ger Many. All of the men maintain that their dismissals were predetermined by the department of the army and cafes when negotiations began last year to Transfer responsibility for liquor operations from the army and air Force to the Exchange service. Cafes took control of the military s liquor business March 25, and Simpson Bowen Chircop Cullen and Eggler were among six employees Laid off two Days later. Cafes said at the time that there were no jobs for the five men and termed the layoffs a reduction in  Robert Giorc a civilian attorney recently hired by Simpson and his four colleagues said that the Exchange service was motivated exclusively by the desire to save a few dollars and that it did so at the expense of Loyal workers. The lawyer in Frankfurt added that his clients All worked for class i for at least 15 years and were earning salaries of up to $63,172 per year. The two agencies got together and these employees rights dropped right through the cracks Fiore said. They were thrown to the  cafes Laid off the workers while providing Only four weeks Severance pay a move that did t take into account the employees Long years of service with army class i. Simpson and his colleagues want a full year s salary As separation pay or their jobs Back. One former air Force class i employee Klaus Schonlank a former procurement officer in Kaiserslautern also claims he was improperly Laid off when the Exchange service took control. Schoenlank 65, worked for air Force class i for More than 30 years but he also received Only four weeks Severance pay. He wants $42,000 in additional pay roughly a year s salary for him. Schonlank has filed a formal complaint with the Exchange service alleging he was mistreated but unlike his army colleagues he has not filed an age discrimination complaint. A spokesman at Exchange Headquarters in Dallas said Schoenlank s Case will be the subject of an administrative hearing in Early october. The Exchange serv ice spokesman said internal hearings for Simpson cafes reports on liquor soles Munich West Germany the army and air Force Exchange service has reported mixed results after its first four months of liquor sales at military bases in Europe. Through the end of july Exchange service officials report they re running ahead of schedule with sales at army bases in Europe but they re lagging slightly at air Force outlets. The Exchange service did not provide exact sales figures. Cafes has run the military s class six liquor stores since March 25. Before that Date the army and air Force ran their own stores. With the Transfer the Exchange service promised to pay roughly the same amount of Money or More to both the army and air Force As each got last year for morale welfare and recreation fund activities overseas. Liquor and Beer sales help support those activities. For the period of March 25 through july 31, the Exchange service paid the army More than $16.8 Mil lion or $91,244 More than the minimum guaranteed for the period said capt. Was Davis an cafes spokesman. A Bonus resulted because the army s sales were bet Ter than had been projected. In the Case of the air Force however sales were not As Strong. The full guarantee of $8.9 million was paid for March 25 through july 31 anyway but cafes was forced to fund $151,487 of the total from Revenue other than class six sales Davis said. The Exchange service expects air Force sales to improve soon. Randy Mcclain Bowen Eggler Cullen and Chircop probably will be held at the same time. As part of their efforts the five former army employees have written a letter seeking help from Gen. John Galvin who Heads nato forces in Europe and the . European come. The men also have filed the age discrimination complaint at Usa Keur s equal employment Opportunity office in a bid to win their jobs Back or the year s Severance pay. Federal Law prohibits companies from discriminating against workers based solely on their age. Fiore said his clients Leo complaint is being investigated by army Leo officials in Heidelberg West Germany but he s willing to drop it if a financial settlement with either cafes or the army Materi Alizes. If the former army class i employees were to win a full year s separation pay it would total More than$175,000. Simpson 65, would receive the biggest settlement or More than $60,000. Exchange service officials though said they Are powerless to give additional separation pay to the for Mer class of workers because the Exchange service s personnel rules specify no More than four weeks sever Ance pay unless an employee has worked for the Exchange service at least three years. Cafes considers the five employees to have been on its payroll about three Days. Nevertheless Giorc said he thinks a financial settlement for his clients is Likely. Galvin has written one of the men to assure him that his rights and those of All class i Agency personnel will be scrupulously protected by this  Calvin s chief of staff at Neucom it. Gen. . Leland jr., also has written one of the former class a employees to assure him that the command is Dis cussing the Case with army and Exchange service officials. Giorc provided the stars and stripes with a copy of a memo dated May 1 from Leland to cafes officials in the United states in which the Neucom chief of staff said we cannot help but be concerned about the situation in which or. Eggler and the others find them selves. The class i Agency did an excellent Job Over Many years and it seems incongruous that key employees of that organization will not realize the Bene fits to which they arc entitled. Leland said army regulations applicable to the class i workers would have provided for up to a year s Severance pay if they had been Laid off in an army reduction in Force rather than in the cafes cutback. Leland suggested that the Exchange service pay the army class i workers and Schonlank of air Force class i a year s separation pay. On july 28, though it. Gen. Claudius e. Watts Iii then comptroller of the air Force and chairman of the Board at the Exchange system sent a memo Back to Neucom in which he said cafes cannot accept this additional  Watts suggested the army and air Force release the inequity  Walts retired in August but an cafes spokesman Al inc Agency s worldwide Headquarters in Dallas said he knows of no change in the Exchange service s stance. If Gen. Walts was writing As chairman of the Board then that probably is cafes s official Posi Tion he said. Whatever agreement the employees had with Usa eur is not an agreement they had with  maj. Alan Fri Denrich a spokesman at Neucom Headquarters in Stuttgart West Germany declined to comment on the Case saying it was inappropriate to discuss ongoing personnel matters. Giorc said he believes inc Only thing delaying a Sci to lament is the obvious disagreement Between cafes and Usa eur about which entity should pay the extra Severance pay required. It s so richly a Dollar fight Fiore said. All the Indi cations 1 have Are that High ranking officials feel these people weren t treated fairly and they want the Situa Tion  still the Mailer remains unresolved. Simpson inc former Usa eur class i director said he and his colleagues Are gelling frustrated about How slowly their Case is moving. It s a very disgraceful situation on the part of cer Tain leadership members in the army he said. It s All tied up in bureaucracy and nothing s gelling done