Star Tribune from Minneapolis, Minnesota • Page 37

SPORTS PEACH In This Section 1 STOCK TABLES Pages 6-8 MINNEAPOLIS, SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 1970 100,000 in State Await New Wage Pacts Local Brokers Predict 1970 State and Federal Mediators Prepare for lot of Work' ways, bridges, dams, and other non-buildings. Their pact expired Jan. 1. Last summer, AGC and 45,000 construction workers in the buildings field, agreed to a three-year contract providing about $2.80 per hour increase in wages and benefits by mid-1971. Labor and management observers point to the settlement as a benchmark for this year's negotiations.

Despite its broad union base and its bitterness, the GE strike may have slight effect here. Only about 20 GE workers are on strike here and ordinarily electrical manufacturing bargaining isn't precedent-making. David K. Roe, president of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, said, "With the types of contracts we have coming up, we might not have a noticeable effect from the GE dispute, although this could change by spring." Last year's construction settlements are likely to be of greater effect, he said. In size, the highway and heavy construction contracts are followed by those of major Twin Cities manufacturers.

More than 12,500 employees at Contracts Continued on Page Five By DALE FETHERLING Minneapolis Tribune Staff Writer Before the backdrop of a 14-union, three month old General Electric (GE) strike, contracts covering more than five million workers nationally and perhaps 100,000 in Minnesota expire this year. The GE dispute, inflation psychology, and costly precedents combined with the sheer number of expiring contracts are expected to make for tough bargaining and the threat of major strikes. "We're in for long hours and a lot of work in 1970," said Charles La-Valley of the Minneapolis office of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. LaValley's 10-man staff and that of State Mediator Vera Buck will attempt to act as midwife to the birth of settlements in some of the state's largest industries. Talks actually began in October between the Associated General Contractors of Minnesota (AGC) and five unions with 40,000 to members in the highway and heavy construction industry.

Paul Sweitzer, AGC administrator of the highway and heavy construction division, said a settlement is sought covering carpenters, laborers, cement finishers, drivers, and operating engineers who construct high Most Approve of Snowmobiles Minneapolis Tribune Photo by Earl Seubert MANUFACTURING WORKERS ARE AMONG WIDE VARIETY OF UNIONISTS COVERED IN 1970 CONTRACT TALKS 100,000 or more Minnesofans are affected by local and national negotiations SEC Asks for Comment WASHINGTON, D.C. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) invited public comment on a Midwest Stock Exchange proposal relating to public ownership of its member firms The proposal, more liberal MINNESOTA 1 POLL ill Be Better By JIM FULLER Minneapolis Tribune Staff Writer The Dow Jones industrial average is sagging and some economists are offering gloomy forecasts for 1970, but the future of the local over-the-counter (OTC) stock market looks as bright as a new toy to the men who make their living from it. This year is almost certain to be better than 1969 with its second-half volume and price decline, said investment bankers contacted in an informal survey last week. They predicted that the decade ahead will bring more growth opportunities and greater stability than ever before seen in the OTC market. Brokers and the state's securities commissioner were unanimous irV their certainty that the local market will not again be plagued with the kind of near-collapse that marred the early 1960s.

Both investors and brokers are more, sophisticated now, they reasoned, and recent new issues show improved quality while regulation of the industry is more efficient. "I really feel bullish," said Joe Mahoney, president of CD. Mahoney one of the Upper Midwest's best known OTC dealers. "I'm bullish about 1970 and 1980 and '90 and on into 200d?" He observed that, on balance, the stocks traded by his firm are up in recent weeks despite the downdrift of listed securities. He dismissed with typical breeziness the prophets of economic ill health.

"Every time I see the 'great minds' analyzing the market bearishly it Market Continued on Page Five New Ideas Pop Up in Housing By FRED JOHNSON Minneapolis Tribune Staff Writer New ideas for meeting the nation's shortage of adequate housing are popping up with increasing frequency. Many of the concepts, three of which are shown in the accompanying ve some form of "modular" construction in which entire homes or major components are built in a factory. Some of the proposals involve the use of materials such as plastic and steel that traditionally have not been basic ingredi- ents in homebuilding. To the layman accustomed to three-bedroom ramblers in suburbia, some of the new concepts appear far-out in terms of shape and land use. What most, if not of the new ideas for housing have in common is the promise of reduced costs.

In theory, the savings will come from such things as the use of factory labor and factory techniques. A number of Minnesota firms are among the companies that are moving into the modular housing market. Eight Minnesota companies submitted proposals last year under the Operation Breakthrough program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). i i I 1. 1 1 1 I I Pemtom, Bloomington, is ii Dayton Hudson Will Be IDS Tower Tenant By FRED JOHNSON Minneapolis Tribune Staff Writer Dayton Hudson Corporation has signed a 15-year $30-million lease for space in the IDS Tower, IDS Properties, announced Saturday.

The lease is the first space agreement completed for the 57-story tower, which is in the early stages of construction. Dayton Hudson ultimately will occupy the sixth through the 17th floors of the office building, or a total of 300,000 square feet. The retailing firm, which also will occupy the sixth, seventh and eighth floors of an annex to the towert will use the space primarily for executive of-. fices. Dayton Hudson will occupy 200,000 square feet initially, and has an option to move into the remaining space later.

Investors Diversified Services, the parent firm of IDS Properties, will take another 300,000 square feet of space in the tower, occupying the 24th through the 36th floors. Together, Dayton Hudson and IDS will use 55 IDS Continued on Page Five Copyright 1970 Minntopofit Star ond Tribun Company Snowmobiling continues to increase in popularity and more growth may be expected this winter if Minnesotans' buying intentions materialize. This is shown in a recent statewide poll among 600 adults by field interviewers of The Minneapolis Tribune's Minnesota Poll. About one out of ten Minnesota households now owns a snowmobile. Both the survey findings and a recent announcement from registration records show that the snowmobile count in Minnesota has passed the 100,000 mark.

Snowmobile ownership is higher among the younger age groups, those living in rural areas and in the northern part of the state divided by a line running west from the Twin Cities. In 18 percent of the households in northern Minnesota, someone owns a snowmobile as compared with 6 percent of the households in southern Minnesota. i In addition to the current level of ownership, 6 percent plan to buy a snowmobile during this winter. That is equivalent to about 60,000 households. About three out of four prospective buyers don't own a snowmobile now.

For one out of four, the snowmobile will be an additional or replacement vehicle. Those interviewed in the statewide poll were asked the following questions: "Does anyone in your household own a snowmobile?" "Is anyone in your hoasehold planning to buy a snowmobile this winter?" The results: Yes, own Yes, plan to snowmobile buy snowmobile All households 10 6 21-29 years 11 5 30-39 years 18 9 40-49 years 10 9 50-59 years 8 4 60 years and over 4 .1 Southern Minnesota 6 5 Twin Cities area 7 4 Northern Minnesota ..18 9 Some communities have only recently adopted restrictions on the use of snowmobiles and state law now requires that snowmobiles be registered. Another question in the poll shows that despite the apparent concern over the use of snowmobiles a majority of Minnesotans have a favorable impression of snowmobiling as a winter sport. Sixty-two percent have a favorable impression, 29 percent an unfavorable impression and 9 percent express no opinion or give qualified answers. This is about the same sentiment found a year ago toward snowmobiling in the Minnesota Poll.

"Do you have a generally favorable or unfavorable impression of the winter sport of snowmobiling?" Other and no Favorable Unfavorable opinion AH adults 62 29 9 21-29 years 74 22 4 30-39 years 75 21 4 40-49 year 66 27 7 50-59 years 51 38 11 60 50 36 14 So. Minn 61 27 12 Twin Cities 59 31 10 No. Minn 69 28 3 on Exchange's Plan than the New York Stock Exchange plan, will be made available at SEC regional offices. A proposal by the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange also will be made available. i I 1 v.

1 I from Hugo, to St. Peter, says the modules can be used in a variety of ways, including commercial applications. Structural Plastics Os-seo, has based its system on a hexagonal module consisting of insulated plastic panels. A single module has about 900 square feet of space, and the units can be used in many configurations. Pemtom, which describes its concept as the Unimod system, will have 12 basic modules that can be used as single homes, townhouses or apartments.

ft WM ONE WAY THE PEMTOM HOUSING CONCEPT COULD BE UTILIZED Firm hopes fo receive federal contract to build such housing the only state firm still in the running for a contract under the HUD program, which is designed to produce housing prototypes using new construction techniques. At least some of the other companies, however, are not abandoning their plans for modular housing because they have been passed over by HUD. Module for instance, has developed a system based on 14-by 14-foot modules manufactured with conventional materials. The firm, which has moved its factory I tit 'Cool-off Period May Have Arrived By THOMAS E. MULLANEY New York Times Service NEW YORK, N.Y.

The stock market and the economy were as chilled as the weather in many parts of the UnitedStates last WEEK IN week. Temperatures were FINANCE lowered by the frigid winds of uncertainty over business conditions, corporate profits, inflation, monetary policy and the government's fiscal plans. As new data on the state of the economy confirmed earlier suspicions that the United States was slipping into at least a mild recession; the stock market eased for the second week and the bond market coped with a new upturn in interest rates. Some of the question marks may be removed in the next few weeks when President Nixon submits the administration's blueprints for creat- Flnance Continued on Page Five rtjl.l ill STRUCTURAL PLASTICS CORP. CONCEPT IS BASED ON HEXAGONAL MODULE, AS SHOWN AT LEFT Module Corp.

system, variation of whfch Is of right, uses square module as building block.