4
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2004
Union pact’s impacts unclear
BY LAURA YOUNGS
SENIOR WRITER
An agreement last week between
major players in the state farming
industry could mean unprecedent
ed unionization in North Carolina,
but experts say it remains to be
seen if the fruits of such labor will
produce change.
“It is tremendously precedent-set
ting and astounding in many ways,”
said Baldemar Velasquez, commit
tee president of the Farm Labor
Organizing Committee, an Ohio
based affiliate of the AFL-CIO that
represents migrant farmworkers.
“There’s never been a unionized
foreign guest worker program. It
means extension of coverage from
Mexico to Ohio.”
Under the two-part agreement,
the N.C. Growers Association, a
federal program designed to sup
ply foreign labor to farms, will
recognize a union headed by the
committee, allowing for far greater
worker protection.
Association President Stan Eury
said talks with committee mem
bers began in July, and subsequent
meetings spurred the agreement,
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which will help expand the use of
the guest worker program.
In addition, it will improve the
credibility of the grower’s associa
tion, which some organizations have
accused of worker exploitation.
“We thought that we could cor
rect some of the misunderstandings
by developing a closer relationship
with the union,” Eury said. “We
thought that (NCGA and FLOC)
might be a stronger political force
together than apart.”
Unionization means that work
ers will pay dues in exchange for a
grievance process and for protec
tion from being summarily fired
without justification, Velasquez
said. There will also be time off
for injury and bereavement, and
employees will suffer no penalty.
But workers still will not have
the right to strike.
“It puts a lot of pressure on (non
unionized farms) to do something
because (there will be) massive
outside scrutiny,” Velasquez said.
“It’ll inspire (workers) and encour
age them to be more vocal about
their rights.”
The deal also means the end of
115 S Elliott Rd ~ 919.942.7427
the committee’s five-year boycott
of Mt. Olive Pickle Cos. Inc., which
began when the committee said Mt.
Olive had an obligation to workers
to improve conditions on farms
supplying its pickle cucumbers.
Mt. Olive contended that labor
issues were the business of farmers.
Negotiations with the commit
tee resulted in last week’s agree
ment by th : pickle company to pay
farmers 10 percent more during a
three-year period for cucumbers.
Lynn Williams, spokeswoman for
Mt. Olive, said the company is glad
to put the matter behind it. “Our
sales continued to grow throughout
the boycott period, but it was a lot
of energy and time diverted away
from our business,” she said.
The process is new to all parties
involved, and whether or not it works
is a question that will be answered
down the road, Eury said.
“This is sort of anew partner
ship that’s never been contemplat
ed before,” he said. “But now we
have to wait and see.”
Contact the State & National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
News
Maximum Pell Grant stays in place
BY NATALIE HAMMEL
STAFF WRITER
The U.S. Senate Appropriations
Committee did not approve an
increase last week in the amount of
money students receive from Pell
Grants when it approved its 2005
fiscal budget.
If the bill is approved by U.S.
Congress, this would be the third
consecutive year the maximum
award possible from Pell Grants is
kept at $4,050.
The committee appropriated
$12.8 billion an increase of
$823.3 million to support the
program.
But when spread over the total
number of students who receive
funding, the increase does not
stretch far.
It potentially does allow the pro
gram to provide more total grants,
but the maximum amount of each
award will not change.
Clara Lovett, president of the
American Association for Higher
Education, said the main reasons
for’ the lack of change are the
huge cost of the program and the
urgency of more pressing needs,
such as health care and improved
transportation.
THE Daily Crossword By Alan P. Olschwang
ACROSS
1 One with an IRA
6 List-ending abbr.
10 Woe is me!
14 An Astaire
15 Radames' love
16 Lion's hairdo
17 Gold measure
18 Emulate a beaver
19 go bragh!
20 Start of Paul
McCartney quote
23 Eagle quarters
24 Make beloved
25 Single grain
27 Body shop's $ quote
28 Refrain starter
29 Part 2 of quote
31 Vegas opening?
32 Speculative
36 Frasier Crane's brother
37 Illuminated
38 Old-time peep show
39 Iditarod ride
40 Cylindrical hat
41 Part 3 of quote
42 Contend
43 Actress Novak
44 Star Wars let
ters
45 Beset
49 Add to the
beauty of
51 End of quote
55 Scheme
56 Fleetwood Mac
57 Louise and
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To increase the maximum
grant by SIOO, the program would
require a S3OO million increase in
funding.
Pell Grants provide need-based
financial assistance to more than
5 million low- and middle-income
undergraduate students and their
families to help pay the cost of
higher education.
About 14 percent of UNC’s
undergraduate students receive
Pell Grant funding.
Shirley Ort, UNC’s director of
scholarships and student aid, said
that although the budget is devoid
of a grant increase, it will meet
UNC’s needs.
“While we would like to see
increased funding for Pell Grants,
in this kind of economy and com
peting pressures for defense and
national security, I think this is a
good budget,” Ort said.
“It would have little, if any,
impact on students at Carolina.”
When tuition increases at
UNC, Ort said, the Office of
Scholarships and Student Aid
turns to other, University-based
resources to help students make
up the difference.
But this year’s battle is not one
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22 Balin or Claire
25 Has title to
26 Seed cover
28 Make lace
30 Danson or Koppel
31 Claiborne or Smith
32 End of man?
33 Perked up \
34 off (keep at bay)
35 Abominable snowman
37 Peggy or Pinky
38 Forgiveness
40 Subs
Turner
58 Baked dessert
59 Frosted
60 Prayer enders
61 God of war
62 New Jersey NBA team
63 Shelf
DOWN
1 H.H. Munro's pen
name
2 Actor West
3 All-purpose
4 Lift the spirits of
5 AARP members
6 Aerie youngster
7 Color shades
8 Hebrew month
9 Members of the bar
10 Make revisions
11 Extensive
12 Ekberg or Baker
13 Mexicali mister
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for the long haul.
Ultimately, the future of the Pell
Grant program depends largely
on reauthorization of the Higher
Education Act, the federal law
that controls most government-run
financial aid programs.
The Republican version of the
reauthorization proposal would
freeze the maximum award.
The Democratic proposal, on
the other hand, would double that
amount to $11,600 by 2011.
“It is vital that we maintain
our commitment to this program,
as the increasing cost of college
tuition has become a major con
cern for nearly every student seek
ing higher education,” said Bridget
Lowell, spokeswoman for Rep.
David Price, D-N.C.
“The grant-to-loan ratio has
already tilted too far toward loans,
resulting in unwieldy debt for stu
dents upon graduation.”
Katie Norman, press secretary
for Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C.,
said the senator also supports
amendments that would increase
Pell Grant funding.
Contact the State £? National
Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(02004 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
All rights reserved.
41 Malicious gossip
42 Caesar's seven
43 Works dough
45 Kindness to creatures
org.
46 Power option
47 Plumber's device
48 " of God"
49 White heron
50 Sound like a bell
52 Intertwine
53 Called
54 Latin being