ACS TACKLES COMPLEX PROBLEMS φ CHICAGO
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Vuinunuu r e n t economic and employment outlook as well as the Chicago weather in its stride last week and promptly tackled some of the most important and far-reaching issues to come before the Society's delibera tive bodies in recent years. Even before the 160th ACS Na tional Meeting officially got under way a week ago the ACS 15-member Board of Directors approved a resolution call ing for Senate ratification of the 1925 Geneva Protocol banning the use of poisonous gases and biological wea pons in war. The joint resolution of the Board of Directors and Council was sent by ACS President Byron Riegel to Sen. J. William Fulbright (D.-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, now considering protocol ratification. Urging the U.S. Senate to ratify the 45-year-old protocol, ACS reversed its opposing position taken on humanitar ian grounds in 1925. Dr. Franklin A. Long, of Cornell University and chair man of the ACS Joint Board-Council Committee on Chemistry and Public Affairs, points out in a communica tion to the Society's Board and Coun cil that in the 45 years since the Geneva Protocol was officially op posed by ACS, the military importance of CBW has diminished but public concern about CBW has increased. The Society resolution supporting ratification did not, however, say spe cifically that it concurred with the
Chemical & Engineering
NEWS SEPTEMBER 21, 1970
White House position on the matter. Administration interpretation of the protocol is that it does not ban the use of defoliating agents, herbicides, tear gas, or napalm. Matters of interest to the majority of ACS's more than 100,000 members captured considerable attention at the Society's Council during its five-hour meeting. Progress on the ACS Pro fession Wide Pension Plan was an nounced. Activities currently under way or planned which will bring to the entire chemical profession—ACS members as well as nonmembers—a portable pension plan with early vest ing provisions include the establish ment of the required nonprofit corpo rate entity in the state of New York sometime this month and selection of the plans carrier—an insurance com pany or investment company—by the end of this year. Forthcoming also will be the appointment of the plan's administra tive corporate governing body by ACS President Byron Riegel and Board Chairman Milton Harris, the devel opment of the corporation's bylaws, and mechanisms to involve other so cieties and market the plan.
The chemical profession's interests were also served with the ACS Council's approval of a set of "guide lines for employers" drawn up by the Society's Committee on Professional Relations. The guidelines are ex pected to serve as ". . . just that— guidelines," says committee chairman Raymond P. Mariella. "The need for sueh guidelines has become increas ingly apparent as the committee has investigated reported instances of mass layoffs of professionals and has at tempted to determine whether they were given equitable treatment by em ployers in question." The guidelines represent the first time ACS has officially set forth rec ommendations to effect employers' re lationships with employees. The fourpage document covers terms of em ployment, the employee environment, and termination conditions. Employ ees with up to five years of service should be given at least one month's notice. Employees having five to 10 years' service should be given at least three months; six months was advised for employees with a single employer for 10 years or more. Other Council actions include the establishment of ad hoc committees on economic status and public relations. It also authorized an evaluation con ducted by ACS staff of the practi cality of carrying out a continuing supply and demand survey of man power needs of the chemical profes sion. SEPT. 21, 1970 C&EN
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