European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 30, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Stars and stripes subject of reviews organization examined after Job complaints by Bob Klose staff writer operation and personnel policies at the stars and stripes Are under review by three . Government agencies a both military and civilian a in the Wake of numerous employee complaints. The organization which is headquartered in Griesheim Germany near Darmstadt operates a daily newspaper and a Chain of bookstores serving . Servicemen Bers and family members from Iceland to Turkey. It is the subject of reviews by investigators and auditors of two inspectors general and according to an equal employment Opportunity official in Frankfurt is the target of a a a High number of Leo complaints filed in recent weeks. A two member team from the . European come in visited the Griesheim Headquarters last week and conducted several a sensing sessions with civilian and military personnel to hear complaints. And a department of defense in auditing team from Washington sent to Europe on business unrelated to the stars and stripes is scheduled to conduct a preliminary Survey of conditions at the organization to determine whether a formal audit or investigation is warranted. A a they re going to look at issues the Dod hotline received from stars and stripes employees a said Dennis Cullen a member of the dodos regional in office in Wiesbaden Germany. Christopher a. Eddings general manager of the stars and stripes said both in visits were sparked by complaints from employees. Eddings said the Dodig in Washington a told us they received complaints. I understand there was a complaint to Neucom As  he said it is not surprising for workers to complain a either to an in or under Leo guidelines. A the organization is having to go through a lot of changes and they Are pretty Tough in some cases a Eddings said adding that the draw Down of . Forces in Europe has Cut the number of bookstores from 200 to 140. Eddings did not know whether there will be further Contact with the Neucom in team or when the Washington team will visit the organization. However Eddings said he anticipates the Dod Survey will not be limited to employee complaints. A i think they Are going to look at a number of historical business practices a he said suggesting such an inquiry would be a natural follow up to an extensive Dodig probe of the organization in 1989. The Ign a Cullen said the Dod ordered the Survey partly in response to complaints the Wiesbaden office received from a former personnel official at the organization William Conaway and other employees he did not identify. Conaway left the stars and stripes on oct. 6 and has retired to san Antonio. Cullen said Conaways concerns a were married up with other issues the hotline has been presented. I done to know the full Range of issues the hotline has before  personnel issues at the organization also Are coming under review in the course of processing equal employment Opportunity complaints filed by employees. According to Gaynell Grayson a civilian equal employment Opportunity specialist for the 233rd base support in covering the Darmstadt military Community stars and stripes employees contacted the local Leo office on 14 occasions since april. Grayson said her office has not processed a similar number of complaints from any other service activity in the Darmstadt military Community during that time period. Joey Vigil chief Leo official at the 103rd area support group in Frankfurt said he knows of seven Leo complaints filed against the organization in the last several weeks. A seven complaints within two months for an organization that size that should make the command staff stand up and say something is wrong a he said. A a in a say that is a High  vigils office oversees Leo issues in Frankfurt Darmstadt and Wiesbaden. He said of the complaints filed against the organization that he is aware of two were formal and five informal and one of the formal complaints already has been resolved. Informal complaints Are subject to possible Resolution through the intervention of a Counselor he said. A complaint becomes formal when the Issue is not resolved by a Counselor and is assigned to an investigator. Robert Fiore an american lawyer in Frankfurt who handles Many such Leo cases said he represents eight stars and stripes employees who have filed Leo complaints Over a two month period from mid August to mid october. He said he also is advising Eddings an additional four employees. A some Are waiting to see what happens with certain management decisions a Fiore said. Fiore said the employees he represents Are raising issues of sex and age discrimination equal pay for equal work and promotion opportunities. He said his clients work in the editorial and business sides of the operation. Other complaints involve senior members of the i he organization la having to go through a lot of changes and they Are pretty Tough in some cases a Chris Eddings stars and stripes general manager newspaper staff receiving pay cuts $8,000 a year in one Case and reduced responsibilities Fiore said. But fiores count on the number of complaints was challenged thursday by sue Gehman Leo officer for the stars and stripes. She said a less than five employees have filed complaints. Gehman said Fiore misrepresented himself in a letter to the organizations management recently when he claimed he was the attorney for eight workers who had filed complaints. A four names on that letter had not filed a complaint a said Gehman who in february was named the organizations first Leo officer. Leo officials As a policy do not identify employees who have filed complaints. However longtime stripes newsman Pete Shinn said he filed an Leo complaint alleging age discrimination after pay he received As news editor was Cut $8,000 a year to reflect his new Job on the copy desk. Shinn has worked for the paper 33 years and a a news editor 27 years. He acknowledged the newspaper is undergoing change but object to the organizations tactics. A the first thing they target Are the older people a he said. A i put out 5,000 editions of this newspaper. In be put it on the line for the Papfi in a outraged at such  like Many other . Military organizations in Europe the stars and stripes is reducing staff Levels and revamping its operations As troop Levels decline and Gehman said the draw Down is reflected in an increasing number of employees using the Leo system. A there Are quite a few people who have gone through the Leo to determine their rights and responsibilities with this draw Down a she said. Gehman said Many problems and employee employer issues Are solved through the Leo process before they become actual complaints. A that Means the system is working a she said. Eddings termed the complaints a a healthy Given that a formal Leo program is relatively new at the organization. A for 50 years stars and stripes had no Leo program a he said. A it would not Surprise me if there was a bit of a backlog on things stars and stripes people would like to talk about. I would support  although newspaper and in officials say multiple complaints have been made to is in Germany and Washington Only former personnel employee Conaway has been identified. Conaway was a classification and recruitment manager in the human resources department. He said he worked five years for the organization and 40 years for the Federal government. Conaway expressed concerns Over operation at the stars and stripes in a sept. 28 letter to it. Gen. Robert d. Chelberg the european come chief of staff. Conaway complained in the letter that working conditions at the organization have produced a hostile work environment and demoralized work Force and pitted employees against management. He wrote that employees Are a harassed intimidated and threatened with salary reductions or forced into resignation or retirement by unscrupulous executives who Are insensitive to employee complaints and Reta Liate against those who  in a Telephone interview Conaway said he also sent a letter outlining about 10 issues to the in regional office in Wiesbaden and a Shorter version to Washington. Conaway would not identify issues raised in the letter to the Wiesbaden office. But he did say the two issues he passed on to Washington concerned a Home duty arrangements that management made for employees who be said were dismissed or whom they could not Deal with. A specifically Conaway cited a former senior newsroom editor who he said remains on the payroll on a Home duty status the a manner in which management chose to handle his forced  Conaway also cited a a Home duty arrangement he said involved a female member of the organizations finance and accounting office. The former editor whom the staff was told in september had a resigned for personal reasons a is receiving a paycheck while looking for work in the states Conaway said. The business office employee is Back at work he said. A it is my understanding that the heat of the in was applied and she returned to duty a he said. Eddings would not discuss the a Home duty Issue. A a it a a personnel Issue a he said. A i done to think it would be appropriate for me to  former Marine pleads guilty to smuggling assault rifles Raleigh . A a former Marine has pleaded guilty to smuggling iraqi assault rifles into the United states from the persian Gulf by hiding them in a false Bottom welded to a vehicle. Michael Randal Boyd of Norfolk va., who was based at Camp Lejeune pleaded guilty wednesday to conspiracy and transporting machine guns across state lines. He also agreed to help prosecutors with the investigation. Investigators said the former Lance Corporal was among 25 people who brought at least two dozen automatic weapons and ammunition into the country last year in a false Bottom on an m936 wrecker similar to a Tow truck. Maj. Samuel Murray who prosecuted the Case said Boyd apparently wanted to sell the guns. Boyd could get five years in prison and a $250,000 Fine on each count at sentencing Jan. 11. He was discharged from the marines in february. Key German rates unchanged Frankfurt Germany a the German Central Bank on thursday left key interest rates unchanged despite expectations that a Cut was imminent. The policy making Central Bank Council left the Lombard rate unchanged at 9.50 percent and the discount rate at 8.25 percent. Both rates were last lowered sept. 14. Most economists now think the Bundesbank will Only gradually pave the Way for a rate Cut probably in mid november at the earliest. The Lombard rate is the rate at which Banks can borrow emergency funds from the Central Banks and acts As an effective ceiling on overnight rates. The discount rate is the cheapest form of Bank refinancing. The Bundesbank has eased some less watched rates prompting expectations in Germany and abroad that a Cut in the Lombard and discount rates was imminent. Britain and some other countries have blamed the High German interest rates for their economic trouble. Some German experts also have criticized the Bundesbank policy