Community Briefs

Wednesday, January 20, 1999

Community Briefs

BRIEFS:

PERB to hold union election in March

The California Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) will hold
a union certification vote at UCLA in March, to determine whether
the Student Association of Graduate Employees (SAGE) will be
certified as the exclusive bargaining agent for UCLA’s readers,
tutors and teaching assistants.

The election comes on the heels of PERB’s ruling in December
that recognized the right of teaching assistants at UCLA to bargain
collectively.

According to Mike Miller, an organizer for SAGE, the election
could result in a stronger position for the union. "When SAGE wins
the election, we’ll be certified as the exclusive bargaining agent
for academic employees at UCLA," Miller said. "If (the) UC refuses
to bargain with us, then they’re breaking the law at that
point."

UC officials indicated that PERB’s ruling had brought no change
in their stance on recognizing the union.

"The PERB decision is in contradiction to previous court
rulings," said Brad Hayward, a spokesperson for the University of
California. "We believe the courts should have the chance to review
PERB’s ruling. Nothing has changed in our position."

Clinton supporters

rally during speech

During President Clinton’s State of the Union address, Bruin
Democrats gathered in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom to show their
support for the administration in the face of the ongoing
impeachment trial.

Actor Andrew Shue, LA Weekly editor Harold Meyerson and Miguel
Contreras, head of the county’s Federation of Labor, were expected
to be among those watching Clinton outline his legislative goals
for the coming year. The event was co-sponsored by People for the
American Way.

In a statement announcing the rally, organizers touted some of
the accomplishments of the Clinton administration while questioning
the work of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, whose investigation
lead to impeachment proceedings.

President Clinton’s approval ratings are still in the 70 percent
range.

Anti-obesity drug works, study says

A two-year study conducted at UCLA and 17 other research centers
across the country found that the anti-obesity drug orlistat
promotes clinically significant weight loss, helps prevent weight
regain and improves certain obesity-related health risk factors –
when used in conjunction with diet.

The drug, which works by blocking the body’s absorption of
roughly 30 percent of ingested fat, is expected to be on the market
within six months.

"Orlistat gives us a new tool to attack the epidemic of
obesity," said Dr. David Heber, director of the Center for Human
Nutrition and an investigator in the study. "The drug can be used
with existing weight-loss approaches."

In addition to weight loss, orlistat was shown to cause
significant long-term reduction in total cholesterol, LDL
cholesterol ("bad" cholesterol), glucose and insulin. Blood
pressure levels were also reduced.

However, the drug is not without its drawbacks. As with Olestra,
a food additive that prevents the absorption of fat into the
bloodstream, users of orlistat reported gastrointestinal problems
as the most frequent side effect.

The positive results achieved in the study were reached by
participants who stuck to a low-calorie diet for the duration of
the study. Persons using the drug still need to reduce their
caloric intake and commit to an exercise routine to lose
weight.

"This is not a magic pill," Heber said. "There is no pill that
jumps out of your body and closes the refrigerator door."

Compiled from Daily Bruin wire reports

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