Argus-Leader from Sioux Falls, South Dakota • Page 7

Nation- lArgus Leader, Sioux Falls, S.D. Wednesday, September 7, 1983 7A Union leaders: Fewer teachers walking picket lines Teacher walkouts in 5. states affect thousands of students By LEE MITGANG Analysis Associated Press As school doors teachers are walking picket lines. Union leaders predict that lower inflation anrf cation reform will add up to labor peace this AS Of TllPsHaV tho 1 T.mitlinn mAk. UnCM1l i iiicuiuci iiauuitai Education Association reported strikes in 23 school "iicmgan, ana one district eacn in Rhode Island, Illinois, Ohio and New Jersey.

By this time last vear. there were ik MFi.cnnncnroH strikes in seven states. "We don't think we'll ennal lact voar'c tntol in there are fewer places where management is taking a hard line on givebacks," Shanker said. Michigan is an exception, Carroll of the National Education Association said. He said that the state's depressed economy is finally perking up, and that teachers want to make up lost ground.

On the other side, some school districts are pushing hard for contract concessions from the teachers. 0 The current national focus on education reform has also contributed to labor peace. Educators, politicians and others are advocating boosting teacher salaries to improve the quality of public "There is an expectation that there'll be some reform," Carroll said. At the same time, Shanker and others say that teacher unions find themselves somewhat on the defensive. Since a ruling last June by the U.S.

Supreme Court upholding a Minnesota law sanctioning tuition tax deductions for parents of private school children, Shanker has warned repeatedly that excessive teacher union militancy could erode support for public schools. If that happened, he has said, tuition tax credit laws favored by President Reagan might be passed by more states, and even Congress. Such laws, the unions believe, could spell the end of public education. strikes," Howard Carroll, an association spokesman, said. The Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers voted Tuesday to return to work today under a settlement reached earlier in the day, only hours before the union's strike deadline.

Tuesday's classes were canceled while the union members met. The school year for 45,000 students began last week. The three-year contract, providing annual raises of $1,870, $2,140 and $2,142, awaits ratification by the city School Board. A strike by 10,000 teachers in Detroit was averted Monday night when negotiators reached agreement on a tentative two-year agreement, John Elliott, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, said. The teachers voted Tuesday to report to work in the afternoon, with classes to begin today for some 200,000 students.

Teachers in Pittsburgh ratified a contract Tuesday, but in St. Louis they threatened that they would strike today and disrupt the start of a major desegregation program. In Boston, teachers rejected a contract but stayed on the job, and in Detroit they reported to work while voting on a new pact. In smaller districts around the country, strikes by more than 5,860 teachers disrupted the opening of school for 119,600 students in five states Michigan, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Washington and Illinois, the National Education Association reported. In St.

Louis, 3,500 teachers threatened that they would strike today, opening day of school, unless the district offers more money and recalls laid off teachers to reduce class size. A strike would delay full implementation of a massive voluntary desegregation program for the system. president, said. "I see activity all around the country with teachers and school officials and members of the community sitting down and tackling school problems. It's an exciting year, but not acrimonious." Shanker, who 15 years ago practically invented teacher union militancy with bitter strikes in New York City and elsewhere, had predicted relative labor peace earlier this summer.

He warned teacher delegates at the American Federation of Teachers annual convention in July: "If we have a big wave of strikes next year, that is going to move the public to say, 'to hell with those public schools, those teachers are always on Teacher union leaders attribute the current labor calm to several factors: Inflation is down to about a 3 percent annual rate, which makes wage offers of 5 percent, 6 percent or more seem bearable. And school districts so far have been relatively generous with their teachers. "I see that there is more money around, and Meanwhile, three lnrals nf tho nMh rival teacher union, the American Federation of Teachers, are on strike so far this week in Pawtucket, R.I., East Detroit, and a Hebrew day swiuui in ueirou cauea tne AKiva school. At this time last year, seven American Federation of Teachers locals were on strike anrl there were 11 strikes during the year. But major cities have largely been spared strikes so far.

"I think it'll be a miieter vear in termc nf lohnr. 1 vim V1 1 IHUV1 Albert Shanker, American Federation of Teachers Threatened strike shadows program for desegregation ST. LOUIS (AP) Full imDlemen- tation of a countywide voluntary school desegregation program was put in doubt Tuesday as teachers threatened to strike on today's opening day for city schools. In addition, officials awaited a rul September 8, 9, 10 Thursday-Saturday ft HMiB 1 A Interstate 90 And North Cliff Avenue, Sioux Falls Register For: GRAND PRIZE TRIP FOR TWO TO LAS VEGAS! $100 BILL GIVEN AWAY EACH DAY! Hundreds Of Dollars Worth Of Merchandise Prizes Given Away Dailyl ing by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the state's request to order an immediate halt to the desegregation effort already under way throughout St.

Louis County outside the city. The state has asked that the plan be put on hold until the appeals court can consider whether William L. Hungate, U.S. district judge, overstepped his authority when he ordered the state to help finance the plan. All 23 St.

Louis County school districts have agreed to take part in the plan. There are more than 56,000 students in the city's 127 public schools. About 3,000 black students from St. Louis have enrolled in predominantly white county school districts. Some 2,000 minority city students already were in county schools as of last week.

An estimated 550 county students were expected to enroll in city schools when the city begins classes. The school board continued talks Tuesday with Local 420 of the American Federation of Teachers, which has threatened to strike Wednesday unless the school district offers more money and recalls laid off teachers in order to reduce class sizes. Evelyn Battle White, president of the teachers' union, said Tuesday that the board appeared ta want a strike. Space agency: Shuttle gets better every trip EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) Challenger returned from space with the least damage recorded on any shuttle flight yet, and may head back for Florida Friday after a record four-day turnaround.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration said Tuesday. The six rats that went along as passengers also "were in good shape They appeared to be in very good spirits when they opened up the box," Herman K. Widick said. Widick, of the Kennedy Space Cen- ter in Florida, is directing ground operations to get the 100-ton spacetruck ready to be flown back to Kennedy bolted atop its modified Boeing 747. is a fair possibility that the space agency can improve the schedule and begin the two-day flight on Friday, he said.

That possible four-day turnaround would be a day shorter than the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has managed before. Challenger's crew, meanwhile, is about to begin a series of debriefings today as space agency officials go over details of the six-day flight. Challenger, the second shuttle, ended its third space flight with a dramatic and near-flawless landing on a spotlighted runway Monday. Truly is named to lead naval space command WASHINGTON (AP) Astronaut Richard H. Truly, freshly returned from his second space shuttle flight, was named Tuesday to be the first Commander of the Naval Space Command which opens for business at Dahlgren, Oct.

1. The announcement, made jointly by National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Navy, means that Truly, a Navy captain, will become the first astronaut to return to naval service since the space agency was founded 25 years ago. Truly, 45, was commander of the Space shuttle Challenger which landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Labor Day morning after six days in space. Establishment of the Naval Space Command, a counterpart of (the Air Force Space Command, was announced by Navy Secretary John Lehman June 15. It will include the naval space surveillance system with headquarters at Dahlgren, the naval astronautics group with headquarters Point Mugu, and elements supporting the fleet satellite communications system.

Truly, Mississippi born and raised, earned his Navy wings in 1960 and then spent three years flying from the flecks of the USS Intrepid and the USS Enterprise. Truly and astronaut Joe Engle flew two test flights of the Enterprise, a shuttle model that was dropped from the back of a 747 aircraft. Need Not Be Present To Win Radios Cassette Tapes And Cases Caps T-Shirts 0 Sunglasses a Gift Certificates Dozens More Prizes All Three Days! fj Congratulations on your first decade of service from: Southeastern Caoe Dftf. 404-447-6300 1-800-241-5349 3105 Gateway Drive, Suite AtlantaNorcross, GA 30071 XZ am looo FmosJ-AJ Holcomb Freightliner White, Inc. I-29 38A, Sioux Falls 605-336-2995 Specialties, Incorporated P.O.

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