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U.C. Berkeley Grad Students Fight For Bargaining Rights By BOB BETTS AGSE filed charges against the university in Nexus Reporter December with the Public Employee Relations Thirteen hundred graduate students at U.C. Board for unfair labor practices, Schultz said. The Berkeley are involved in organizing the case is pending. Association of Graduate Student Employees, a Currently, AGSE is working on a bill endorsed labor union to ensure fair labor practices for by Assemblymember Tom Bates (D-Alameda) teaching assistants and research assistants, that would make it more difficult for the AGSE member Greg Schultz said. university to deny student employees their rights AGSE has been negotiating with the university by clarifying the language of the 1979 Higher since the summer of 1983 and has had some suc­ Education Employer-Employee Relations Act. cess in the areas of pay increases, an installment “ The wording in HEEERA is ambiguous and plan for fee payment, distribution of the campus muddied,” Argenbright said. “ It says that for us grievance procedure, and an improved system to to qualify as employees our (assistantship) work deal with late paychecks, Schultz said. has to be subordinate to bur degree work.” Despite their successes, Schultz said the fun­ The bill has also been endorsed by the Graduate damental problem is the university’s reluctance to Assembly at Berkeley, the Student Body give graduate assistants an employee status, Presidents’ Council, the systemwide Student thereby denying them collective bargaining rights Lobby in Sacramento and the Berkeley ASUC, as a union. Schultz said. “ First on the agenda is establishing our Despite the difficulties AGSE has been having in graduate student rights as employees,” AGSE gaining employee status for graduate students, it member Bob Argenbright said. “ The university has had success in persuading the university to still claims that they are meeting with a group of provide a late paycheck expediture to ensure ‘concerned students,’ ” he added. checks are printed up within five working days, In an effort to gain the right to organize and thus Schultz said. Late paychecks have been a “ per- bargain collectively as an employee union, the (Please turn to pg.8, col. 1) Offshore Drilling Bills Protect State Marine Life A windsurfer offGoleta Beach enjoys the Santa Barbara By RANDY ZARECKI within the zone, but also nullify attempt to reach a compromise winter. Nexus Reporter existing operation leases, Hart (with the oil industry) to protect DANA PEPPER/N«xus Senator Gary Hart (D-Santa Administrative Assistant Naomi the fishing industry and the coastal Barbara) has proposed several Schwartz and State Lands Com­ community from the adverse ef­ bills to the Legislature to protect mission Legislative Coordinator fects of offshore oil production,” fisheries and air quality standards Bill Morrison explained. Caves said. State College System in offshore oil drilling areas. Eliminating existing operations Another oil bill authored by The four bills, designed to within the proposed depth would Hart, S.B. 1673, requires public restrict offshore oil development, reduce California state revenues hearings on all federally proposed f May Undergo Review were introduced Feb. 15 and $300 million annually, Morrison offshore developments, and resulted from the Senate hearing said. “ would establish a Local Gover­ ByDANASNYDER testimony in Santa Barbara last The bill would apply only to state nment Outer Continental Shelf Nexus Reporter November. The bills’ aim is to waters and cut state development Energy Advisory Committee to Senate Minority Leader Jim Neilsen (R-Woodland) has introduced a protect coastal communities and potential in half, but still allow for advise the governor” on coastal bill calling for the review of the Master Plan for Higher Education in resources from the adverse im­ other methods of retrieving the oil, developments, Caves said/ California in response to the recent community college funding crisis pacts of oil development along Schwartz explained. “ S.B. 1673 is designed to ensure and the need for a more clearly defined higher education system. California’s coast, Hart’s “ S.B. 1543, by setting aside some that the communities most af­ “ Neilsen’s bill, Senate Bill 1570, requires the California Post­ Legislative Assistant Joe Caves of the most productive fishing fected by the oil drilling will have secondary Education Commission to complete reports by Feb. 1,1985, said. areas, will guarantee a continued an opportunity to present their that will assist in the review of the Master Plan,” Nielsen Press “The federal government is existence for our fishing industry views and recommendations as Director Pat Chartrand said. pushing hard for accelerated while still allowing development of part of the state’s official review The recent funding cutbacks in community colleges resulted in a loss development of oil fields off the the oil found in those areas through process. Unfortunately, up till now of students and a reduction in the number of classes, Chartrand said. coast of California,” Hart said. “ It slant drilling techniques,” Hart the federal government has shown “ Senator Neilsen, because of the community college crisis, felt that we is our obligation to make sure that said. scant interest in allowing public needed to look at higher education as a whole,” she added. The plan such development doesn’t destroy The bill faces strong opposition comment and discussion of their includes community colleges, California State Universities, and the the existing economies and natural from the oil industry and is plans for our coastal areas,” Hart University of California system. resources of our coastal com­ nowhere near approval. After said. In his bill, Neilsen listed reasons for reviewing the Master Plan: munities.” advancing from the Senate Rules The third oil bill, S.B. 1676, would Proposition 13 has shifted the major financing responsibility for the The most controversial bill, Committee to the Senate Natural toughen penalties on the oil in­ community colleges from the local districts to the state General Fund; Senate Bill 1543, would establish a Resource and Wildlife Committee, dustries for damaging lobster both the University of California and the California State University fishery protection zone in coastal the bill still needs to hurdle Senate traps, Caves said. The bin would system have suffered under several years of budget cuts; remediation waters less than 30 fathoms (about Finance and Senate Floor Com­ specify trap design to protect courses have multiplied at all three segments of California’s higher 180 feet) in depth from Monterey mittee obstacles before going to lobsters from unnecessary death, education system; the mission of the community colleges has become County to the Mexican border, the Assembly for a vote, Schwartz as well as repay fishers for varied and confused in the struggle for higher student numbers. Caves said. said. damages sustained when oil in­ Thirteen representative members will compose a Commission for the Passage of the bill would not only As with the other bills, this dustry vessels sever buoy lines and (Please turn to pg.8, col.l) prohibit future offshore leases proposal was “ introduced in an (Please turn to pg.8, col.5) Private Well Failures Spur Further Testing Laws By TAMMY ABRAMS alternative supplies survive these currently required 24 hours to 72 Holmdahl asked. Goleta Water District in hopes it Nexus Reporter failures,” Goleta Water District hours, to be conducted at a con- In addition to the request for will “ bail them out” of their A proposal for tightening con­ Chief Engineer Lloyd Fowler stant flow rate. This should not more extensive tests, Wallace and situation by issuing a water trols on private water well permits wrote in a letter to the supervisors, change the water level by more Goleta Water Board Vice hookup. However the district is received a favorable response at A better testing procedure prior to than one foot in the last four hours, President Donna Hone brought out legally prevented from issuing Tuesday’s Santa Barbara County issuance of well permits is The water quality test should in­ discrepancies among county ad­ hookups because of the water Board of Supervisors meeting. necessary to inform the elude at least two samples 48 hours ministrators’ policies, regarding moratorium passed in 1973. The county’s Environmental adherence to the water well or­ Supervisor Torn Miyoshi ex­ Health, and Department of Health ‘All water wells are subject to failure and only dinance. The recent failure of a pressed sympathy for die Goleta Care Services were ordered to those persons with sufficient financial private water well shared by two Water District’s position and was new homeowners in Goleta concerned about solutions to the research the costs and benefits of resources and alternative supplies s u r v i v e more extensive water-well tests spurred Wallace to look into what failure of wells. He questioned prior to issuing well permits and these failures.’ —Lloyd Fowler he calls a “ breakdown in the whether the proposed additional will return to the board with their system” of issuing well permits. testing requirements were enough findings in five weeks. The board prospective well owners as to the apart to determining total A temporary occupancy permit to “ ensure long-term water sup­ will then consider rewriting the nature of their potential supply, dissolved solids content and any was issued to one of the ply.” He suggested to prohibit all Fowler said. county ordinance to incorporate other abnormalities in the well homeowners when they knew their well permits in areas that have specific requests concerning water “ The current rules for the water, Fowler added. well water was not potable. “ You enough water to allow additional wells, raised by the Goleta Valley pumping test are inadequate,” Supervisor DeWayne Holmdahl (Santa Barbara County) are not district hookups instead of suf­ Water District Board and Fowler’s letter charged.

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