OPINION —
Candidates state platforms to students
AS candidates speak out in the Courier about
their responsibilities, their objectives and their
hopes for the future of PCC. The AS elections
are next Tuesday and Wednesday, April 22 and
NEWS
Volunteer Center adopts beach
Redondo State Beach will now be PCC’s ecologi¬
cal responsibility. Students will have the opportu¬
nity to maintain the beach’s cleanliness while
having a good time.
SPORTS
Men's tennis winning streak ends
The team loses its first game in 10 in a disappointing
match against chief rival Mary mount College.
6
SAMUEL HERNANDEZ
/
THE COURIER
This sign declared ‘Asbestos is a case of life or death.’ The protestors said that students are also at risk.
PCC contractor accused
of safety and labor law
violations in S building
By YUSEF ROBB
Courier Staff Writer
Approximately 3 5 protesters descended upon PCC on
Tuesday to protest what they claimed were safety and
wage violations concerning the asbestos removal in the
old football stadium.
Organized by the Laborers International Union of
North America, the protesters charged CST Environ¬
mental Inc., the company removing the asbestos, of
exposing their workers to unsafe levels of asbestos and
underpaying them. Protestors said that both are viola¬
tions of state and federal laws and of CST’s contract with
PCC.
The protesters, who were mostly students and asbes¬
tos workers , stated that CST was at fault, and not the
college administration, which they believe has no knowl¬
edge of the alleged infractions by CST.
They also emphasized that CST employs non-union
workers.
“This is not a money issue,” yelled one of the
protesters, “It’s a safety issue.”
Protestors alleged that CST is not providing their
workers with the necessary precautions against asbestos,
which has been proven to cause cancer and other mala¬
dies. They also said that students were at risk from the
exposure.
The issue was very personal to some. Protestor
Guillermo Molina recalled “a person who killed himself
because he couldn’t handle the pain” of his asbestos-
related illness.
Patrick Moran, lead organizer for the Laborers Inter¬
national Union, said that while CST is required to pay its
workers with 1000 hours experience $13.83 an hour,
they are only being paid about $10. The allegation of low
pay was supported by pay stubs faxed to The Courier by
Moran.
Because of this the union is planning to file charges
against CST, he said.
But Mark Volz of CST disagreed. “We’re paying
prevailing wages,” he said. He denied wrongdoing of
any kind on CST’s part, saying “that would be a
violation of the law.”
Edgar Nandkishore, director of purchasing services,
said that contractors employed by public entities are
required to pay “the prevailing minimum wage” for the
type of work that is being done.
The contract that CST signed with PCC states that they
are obligated to pay “the general prevailing rate of per
diem wages.”
In a letter to Nandkishore, CST president Subhas
Khara stated that the protestors’ statements were “noth¬
ing more than campaign rhetoric and slander of [non-
unionized] contractors by the union.” He also stated “at
all times during the project, all work was performed in
full compliance with all regulatory requirements.”
But a CST employee who works on the PCC project
said that this is not so.
“They’re showers are setup, but there is no water. We
use masks, but we only get one a week.” He also stated
that he was not being paid the prevailing wage and that
he has worked 10-12 hours in a day and has only been paid
for 10. Two weeks ago he worked for 10 hours but was
only paid for 8. The employee said .that he has not
complained to the college out of fear for his job.
Khara also referred to a March 10 Associated Press
article which said that the union is mounting a $ 1 million
campaign in Los Angeles County to organize asbestos
workers. He feels that this protest was part of that.
CST also signed a guarantee that and a bond holding
them responsible for abiding by the terms of the contract.
According to union organizers, the protest was staged
to make students and the administration aware of what
was going on. Included on the flyers they distributed was
Nandkishore’s phone number, because he is the one who
deals with contractors on campus.
The protestors started their demonstration inthe Quad,
across from where AS campaign speeches were being
given. They quickly moved to the sidewalk in front of the
mirror pools where they continued the protest, blowing
whistles and yelling “no justice, no peace.”
Courier editor Rachel Uranga contributed to this story.
Ligons re-elected
over Brown to
Senate Presidency
■ McLean also wins, squeaking into office
as the Faculty Senate vice president. Alan
Lamson was elected Secretary with 178 votes.
Faculty defections
stir ongoing crisis
By DANIEL ARCHULETA
Courier Staff Writer
Ellen Ligons was successful
in her write-inbid to be re-elected
president of the Senate. She re¬
ceived 136 of the 218 votes cast
in the presidential election.
“I’m very happy about the
faculty’s strong vote of confi¬
dence,” Ligons said.
Gordon Brown, professor of
social sciences and former Fac¬
ulty Senate president, received
80 votes in his favor.
Bob McLean also was re¬
elected, defeating John Jacobs
by a narrow margin to remain the
Faculty Senate’s vice president
for the 1997-98 academic year.
By an unofficial count,
McLean edged Jacobs by eight
votes, 104-96. This will be his
second term at that position. “I
expected it to be close; Jacobs is
well known,” McLean com¬
mented.
Listing improved faculty hir¬
ing procedures and budget devel¬
opment as key issues he wants to
pursue, McLean said that the col¬
lege has “come along way” in
these areas but “more needs to be
done.”
He also plans to push toward
an agreement on the college-wide
shared governance plan that was
originally introduced by PCC
president, James Kossler.
Alan Lamson, professor of En¬
glish, became the Senate’s new
secretary replacing Jean
Volckman who did not run for re-
election. He ran unopposed and
garnered 178 of the 180 votes for
that position.
Keith Oberlander was victori¬
ous in his attempt to remain trea¬
surer; he also ran unopposed.
While the votes were being
counted by Jane Hallinger, Daniel
Tiberi, Anthony Georgalis, and
James Arnwine, Frank Fernandez,
AS executive vice president,
asked to be admitted to observe
the proceedings.
When he was told that he
could not watch, he became con¬
cerned that it was a violation of
the Brown Act.
Upon further investigation it
was found that the election com¬
mittee did not have to admit him.
However, the committee did grant
entrance to the counting area to a
Courier reporter.
By RACHEL URANGA
Courier Staff Writer
A cloud of disenchantment fi¬
nally reached a saturation point
when three members of the elec¬
tions committee resigned at a
Faculty Senate board meeting last
Monday.
“The current climate surround¬
ing this election and the action of
the current Faculty Senate Presi¬
dent has made it impossible for
me to fulfill my responsibilities
as a member of the elections com¬
mittee, “ said Phil Ricards, who
resigned.
Ricards called for the disquali¬
fication of Ligons on grounds of
tampering with the election.
In a his memo of resignation,
he stated that “Ligons, by halting
the election process, has commit¬
ted an impeachable offense.”
Ligons responded, “The presi¬
dent of the Faculty Senate has the
responsibility of responding to
complaints from external sources
including staff, students and the
Board of Trustees. The president
must take these complaints to the
Senate.” She said her memo to
the board had done just that and
was not an attack on the electoral
process.
“The current elections com¬
mittee is under fire by Ligons and
her cohorts precisely because we
have followed the Faculty Senate
Policy,” Ricards emphasized. He
said her accusations of illegal ac¬
tivity afflicted the electoral pro¬
cess.
Ligons did not directly respond
to Ricards’ allegations and the
Senate took no action on his call
to disqualify her.
The committee ’ s controversial
decision to count only write-in
votes with marks next to them
was overturned by the Faculty
Senate Board. The ruling of the
Senate came after members of the
board expressed concern about
the write-in format.
Gloria Horton, who resigned
from the committee over its adop¬
tion of procedures for counting
ballots, said the process was un¬
fair. She supported the board’s
ruling to count votes when just a
name was written on the ballot.
Ricards, speaking to a board
that has been split over the con¬
troversy, disputed accusations by
parliamentarian Richard McKee
that the committee violated the
Brown Act, California’s open
meetings law.
He, along with several other
board members, expressed dis¬
may at the threats of possible
litigation against the committee.
“The Brown Act isbeing waved
about like Mao’s little red book
while threats of lawsuits against
the election committee members
arebeing noised abroad, “ Ricards
stated in his resignation memo.
McKee outlined thecommittee’ s
violations in an April 7 memo sent
Please see SENATE page 6
PCC GOES TO WASHINGTON
COURTESY OF VALENDA DeCOHEN
PCC students lobbied their elected officials last week. See page 5.