April 13, 2004

Chuck Herring, Uniserv Director
Harriet Poch, Uniserv Associate Staff

WHERE’S CHUCK?

Apr. 13	-Meeting w/Alpena EA Bargaining Team -14A Coordinating Council Meeting (MEA Office)
Apr.14	-Meeting w/ACC Faculty Bargaining Team -Region 14 Council (BJ’s – Gaylord)
Apr.15	-NMEA (BJ’s Gaylord)
Apr.16	-ACC-ESP Bargaining (ACC)
Apr.20	-Meeting w/Alpena EA Bargaining Team
Apr.21	-Travel to Petoskey for Teleconference Meeting re: Election 2004 -Meeting w/ACC Faculty Bargaining Team
Apr.22	-Preparation for Rogers City ESP Arbitration -Rogers City EA Mediation
Apr.23	-Lansing
Apr.26-30	-Chuck on vacation
May 3	-Bargaining w/Rogers City EA?
May 4	-Preparation for Rogers City ESP Arbitration -Meeting w/Posen ESP re Seniority -Rogers City ESP Mediation
May 5	-Preparation for Rogers City ESP Arbitration
May 6	-Rogers City ESP Arbitration
May 7	-Chuck on vacation
May 10	- Meeting w/Alpena EA Bargaining Team
May 11	-14A Coordinating Council Meeting (19^th Hole – Alpena)

In the last issue, I spoke to the Northern Michigan Hospital Nurses situation. I did not, however, include a name or phone number to contribute to the nurses. They will take anything you can provide: Money, time (Experience walking a picket line!), help at strike headquarters, and most helpful of all—don’t use the NMH facilities until the strike is resolved. Phone number is 1-800-482-0343 or contributions can be sent to NMH Nurses Strike Fund, c/o Teamsters Local 406, 501 Mitchell, Petoskey, MI 49770. On behalf of the nurses—Thank You.

Did you know…

MEA will pay conference registration, round trip mileage, and MEA room rate for the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dearborn for up to two presenters at the Instructional Professional Development (IPC) Conference, December 2-4, 2004. If you have/use some unique process in the classroom or work area, think about sharing it.

…MEA Crisis Assistance (CAP) provides a benefit to members in a work stoppage equal to his/her daily gross wage for each day of the work stoppage starting with the first day. This benefit is paid regardless of whether the member is fined a day’s pay or not under PA 112, provision of PERA.

Microwaving in plastic was dangerous—has that changed? Yes, if you use plastics with recycling codes that indicate they are safe for the microwave. Plastic containers labeled number 1 (polyethylene terphthalate) and number 5 (polypropylene) can be used Number 6 (polystyrene) may be microwaved only if it is covered with a barrier film, such as a microwave-safe plastic wrap. Most baby bottles and disposable liners are safe to microwave. Anything labeled nylon, dual ovenable or microwave safe also can be put in the microwave.

Don’t microwave plastic containers labeled number 2 (high-density polyethylene)…3 (polyvinyl chloride)…4 (low-density polyethylene)… or 7 (which is made of other resins).

Also: Don’t microwave plastic wrap or plastic bags—except those specifically labeled microwave safe. Wax paper and paper towels are fine to use in the microwave.

Better: Glass or ceramic bowls made for the microwave—they usually have a plastic top with a steam vent. Answer from: Clair Hicks, PhD, professor of food science, University of Kentucky, Lexington.

A pickup in inflation will force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates as early as May, warns bond guru Roger Klein, PhD. By mid-2005, the key Federal Funds rate will move up to 4%, from 1% today. The rate on 10-year Treasury bonds—which influences mortgage rates—will be up from today’s 4.25% to as high as 6%. Mortgage rates will average 7.5%, versus less than 6% today. What to do: If refinancing, lock up terms now. Be wary of adjustable-rate mortgages—interest will adjust upward as rates raise. Roger Klein, PhD, is an economist and editor of The Klein-Wolman Investment Letter, Mercerville, New Jersey.

I don’t "usually" plagiarize, so I’m publishing the following with permission from the Cadillac MEA Office:

The Mouse Trap

A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard the mouse proclaimed the warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house, a mousetrap in the house!"

"The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said: "Excuse me, Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him: "There is a mousetrap in the house, a mousetrap in the house!" "I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers."

The mouse then turned to the cow. She said, "Like wow, Mr. Mouse. A mousetrap. Like I am in grave danger. Duh…NOT!"

So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever.

Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient.

His wife’s sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well, and a few days later she passed away---

So many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat. MORAL: When there is a mousetrap in the house, the whole farmyard is at risk.