Linus Pauling speaks out on Nicaragua

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Linus Pauling, the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1954 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962, is one of the endorsers of the San Francisco Spring Mobilization for Peace, Jobs, and Justice. Socialist Action contacted him about his trip last year to Nicaragua and his views on the recent statements by the Reagan administration on Central America..

Pauling explained that he was in Nicaragua for one week in July 1984. "The Norwegian Parliament and the Norwegian government as a whole decided to send a ship laden with supplies to Nicaragua, he stated, "in order to help the Nicaraguan people in their struggle for democracy and against oppression. 1 was asked to join other Nobel laureates on this trip, called the Peace Ship."

Asked about his impressions of the gains made over the past five years in the field of health care, Pauling noted that "physicians now treat the poor people under the health-care system and are paid—reimbursed—by the state."

He added, "I judge that what happened before the revolution, before the Sandinista fighters won, was that the poor people just didn't get much in the way of health care or physician services. Now they do."

«We visited a hospital in Managua," he continued, "where [there were] soldiers who had been seriously wounded in fighting the contras, the group set up by the United States to harass the country."

Pauling added, "This military harassment forces this small country, with 3 200.00 soldiers, 'o have an army of Pauling felt that the recent Reagan declarations on Nicaragua were very ominous and stated his hope "that the Congress may prevent the government from providing the money [to the contras]."

He noted, however, that millions of dollars are being raised privately "by a lot of rich right-wingers who support the contras."

Finally, referring to the large labor support for the April 20 Spring Mobilization, Pauling proudly noted: "You know, 1 am an honorary member of the Longshoremen's union." —ALAN BENJAMIN Linus Pauling SOCIALIST ACTION MARCH 1985 3

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New contract round challenges Teamsters NEW YORK—The Teamsters' largest contract, the National Master Freight Agreement (NMFA), covering more than 200,000 workers and involving 43 percent of all Teamster locals, will expire on March 31.

The results of this contract round will not only determine the wages, benefits, job security, and conditions of freight employees, and set the pattern for other Hal Lundford is a member of I.B.T. 707. Teamsters, but may also for some time.

Thẹ division of the employers into three separate groups threatens to break up the national master contract, a gain won by the union in 1964. Thus far, however, Teamster officials have firmly rejected any such breakup. They have said that would not tolerate side deals made by any local.

Representing the major carriers and 60 percent of the industry is Truck Management, Inc. (TMI). TMI is demanding a two-tier wage structure. As well as violating the union principle of equal pay for equal work and threatening present workers' jobs, this is meant to be a time bomb to undermine the union.

Rank-and-file Teamsters rejected this in the form of a relief rider to the NMFA over a year ago by an 88 percent vote. Teamster president Jackie Presser, however, appears once again ready to concede on this key question.

TMI is also pressing to introduce speedup through such tactics as productivity standards and elimination of coffee breaks. It also wants to eliminate unionized jobs by combining job classifications and shifting work to non-union subcontractors and subsidiaries (double-breasting).

The union has the power to stop this concessionary drive, preserve the NMFA, restore the cost-of-living allowance (given up in 1982), protect members' jobs, and organize the growing non-union trucking sector-if the bureaucrats would mobilize the ranks. Presser, however, sees concessions as necessary and truck drivers as too difficult to organize, because he is opposed to informing and involving the membership.

For example, in the big New York freight Local 707, the members have been told by the union that no information on the issues in the freight talks was available. Meanwhile, activists from Teamsters for a Democratic Union (TDU) were distributing contract bulletins detailing the union proposals!

Nevertheless, around the country freight Teamsters are organizing themselves on a rank-and-file level to win a decent contract and fight management harassment. Through the distribution of TDU materials, tens of thousands of drivers and dock workers are studying the issues.

Where there is some union democracy, as well as rank-and-file organization, the members are turning out to union meetings and passing motions putting their local behind a decent contract. They are warning that they will reject any agreement that makes important concessions and ignores their concerns.

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"Now the poor have health care "