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Humans and Animals as Observed in C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
May 4, 2021 14 min read Issue TwoNonfiction
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, originally published in 1950 with British publisher Geoffrey Bles, is at surface level a story about a group of children who discover a magical land called Narnia. Narnia is filled with talking animals who believe the children will fulfill a prophecy freeing the inhabitants of Narnia from the evil reign of the White Witch. A closer look at Lewis' novel however, reveals that the animals have classist human characteristics, shifting the narrative from a surface level read to an examination of the text using an ecocritical lens. I will be focusing on specific characters in the lower and middle class sections to showcase how the novel places specific British, classist traits onto animal characters. For the lower class, I will be taking a look at the wolf and reindeer characters. For the middle class I will be looking at Mr. Tumnus, a faun, and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver who are both beavers. As a result of looking at the text from an ecocritical lens, there is much which can be uncovered about the placing of distinct classist, British characteristics onto the animal characters featured in the novel.
The connection between humans and animals is nothing new. In his book Animal Theory: A Critical Introduction, Derek Ryan takes a look at theories concerning animals with his first chapter, delving into a psychoanalytic analysis of animals through the lens of humans. In Thinking Animals: Animals and the Development of Human Intelligence, Paul Shepard spends a whole chapter discussing the correlation between associating animals with people and people with animals. Val Plumwood in her piece "Decolonizing relationships with nature" and Rob Nixon in his piece Slow Violence both examine through an ecocritical lens how animals are impacted by humans and how animals are viewed in relation to humans. There are many novels prior to Lewis' featuring animals with human characteristics. Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol, all feature animals with human traits and characteristics. In Lewis' novel, the animals are given specific human characteristics with a hierarchy similar to the British class system. There are lower class animals who serve the White Witch, and a middle class who have their own homes and are not living a life of servitude. The middle class does however look up to a higher class, such as the White Witch or Aslan. By focusing on the middle and lower class characters, the British classist nature of the characters and their role in the novel is displayed.
The distinction between the middle class characters and the lower class characters extends further than just the ways in which both sets of characters solidify the anthropocentric nature of the novel. As often found in fantasy children's literature, the plot revolves around there being a good and a bad side, around heroes and villains. In the case of Lewis' novel, the White Witch and those in servitude to her - the wolves and the reindeer - are on the bad side while the children, the middle class characters, and the upper class characters are on the good side. The lower class characters convey more animal traits while the middle class convey more human traits. The lower class are in servitude to the bad side while the middle class and the higher class, maintaining their free will, choose to be on the good side. All these aspects of the lower and middle class animal characters in the novel present a viewpoint on the British class system and on humanity's view on animals.
Before diving into the British middle and lower class characters, it is important to note that not all the animal characters express human characteristics but the animal characters that do not express human characteristics still have a place in the hierarchy presented in the novel. The reindeers are an example of a character that does not express human characteristics but still has a place in the classist hierarchy of the novel. The White Witch, at different points throughout the novel, rides in a carriage pulled by a team of reindeers. The reindeers are described in the following way:
The reindeer were about the size of Shetland ponies and their hair was so white that even the snow hardly looked white compared with them; their branching horns were gilded and shone like something on fire when the sunrise caught them. Their harness was of scarlet leather and covered with bells... the dwarf pulled the reindeer up so sharp that they almost sat down. Then they recovered themselves and stood champing their bits and blowing. In the frosty air the breath coming out of their nostrils looked like smoke (Lewis 31-32).
The reindeer are depicted as animals, with the text pointing out details such as their horns and their harnesses. The reindeer are compared to "Shetland ponies" (Lewis 31) to highlight the animalistic role of the character. These reindeer have no dialogue throughout the novel and are only mentioned as the animals pulling the carriage to get the White Witch to where she needs to be. The reindeer are in the lower class of the apparent British hierarchy in the novel despite not having human characteristics, as they are never given a chance to speak and their only function in the novel is to serve the White Witch.
Mr. Tumnus is the first inhabitant of Narnia to be introduced in the novel and the first example of a character with British middle class traits. He is a half human and half goat creature and is referred to as a faun. The novel describes the physical appearance of Mr. Tumnus, depicting both his human and goat half, as such:
From the waist upward he was like a man, but his legs were shaped like a goat's (the hair on them was glossy black) and instead of feet he had goat's hoofs. He also had a tail, but Lucy did not notice at first because it was neatly caught up over the arm that held the umbrella so as to keep it from trailing in the snow. He had a red woolen muffler round his neck and his skin was rather reddish too. He had a strange, but pleasant little face, with a short pointed beard and curly hair, and out of the hair there stuck two horns, one on each side of his forehead. One of his hands, as I have said, held the umbrella: in the other arm he carried several brown-paper parcels (Lewis, 10).
In appearance, Mr. Tumnus has quite a balance of goat and human characteristics. However in his actions and his living area Mr. Tumnus expresses British, middle class characteristics. He invites Lucy into his home, which is described as: "a little, dry, clean cave of reddish stone with a carpet on the floor and two little chairs... and a table and a dresser and a mantlepiece over the fire and above that a picture of an old Faun with a gray beard. In one corner there was a door which Lucy thought must lead to Mr. Tumnus's bedroom, and on one wall was a shelf full of books" (Lewis, 14-15).
The interior of Mr. Tumnus' cave is reminiscent of the type of home a British, middle class human would have. He then prepares food for Lucy that is not so much what a mythical faun would prepare but more along the lines of what a British middle class person might prepare; tea, different kinds of toast, eggs, cake, etc. By placing such a vast amount of middle class British traits onto Mr. Tumnus, Lewis dismisses the nature-centric mythological history of the faun. Lewis domesticated Mr. Tumnus by replacing the history of the faun as a woodland creature with that of a British, middle class human.
Mr. Beaver and Mrs. Beaver are two other characters who have British middle class characteristics. Mrs. Beaver is introduced as "a kind-looking old she-beaver sitting in the corner with a thread in her mouth working busily at her sewing machine" (Lewis, 72). Like a human, Mrs. Beaver is depicted at a sewing machine and later on she also cooks in her oven, pours a jug of beer for Mr. Beaver, and cuts some bread for them to all eat. The Beavers own fishing nets and sacks so that Mr. Beaver may go out and get fish for dinner. The girls and Mrs. Beaver prepare dinner in the way a human would, not two beavers. The most animal-like quality of Mr. Beaver is when he fishes with his paws, and yet beavers do not hunt for fish in such a fashion because they do not eat fish at all. Beavers eat plants, yet in Lewis' novel the two beaver characters are depicted as eating fish, bread, and beer. The children and the beavers entire meal is that of a British middle-class household: "... a jug of creamy milk for the children (Mr. Beaver stuck to beer) and a great big lump of deep yellow butter in the middle of the table from which everyone took as much as he wanted to go with his potatoes ... good freshwater fish ... a great and gloriously sticky marmalade roll ... when they had finished the marmalade roll the tea was made and ready to be poured out." (Lewis, 74) The potatoes, the butter, and the tea are all distinctly European food, with the marmalade being distinctly British. Like Mr. Tumnus, the food Mr. and Mrs. Beaver eat reflects the meal of a British middle-class household and thus contributes to the evidence of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver reflecting traits of British middle class humans. The beaver characters are given more human characteristics than animal, and even when the beavers are given animal characteristics they are inaccurate to the beaver as a genus.
Lewis' novel imposes the human concept of heteronormativity on the two beaver characters. Mrs. Beaver takes the heteronormative role of a wife by being the one to sew and prepare dinner while Mr. Beaver takes the heteronormative role of husband by being the one to provide the dinner. Mrs. Beaver is even referred to as a "she-beaver" (Lewis, 71) when her character is introduced and at no point is Mr. Beaver referred to as a he-beaver. There is no need to utilize the term she-beaver to describe Mrs. Beaver, especially when she is already given the title of Mrs. to allow the reader to know that she is a female beaver. The titles Mr. and Mrs. place two distinct gender roles onto the beavers by referring to the male beaver as Mr. and the female beaver as Mrs. Heteronormativity is a man-made social construct and is not inherent in animals. Gender is a human concept in comparison to sex of which can be applied to all creatures. The heteronormative gender roles placed upon Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are just another example of how these two characters are more human than animal in Lewis' novel.
The lower class animal characters express more animalistic traits than human traits and are presented as in servitude to the White Witch. The wolves in the novel are one of the lower class characters in servitude to the White Witch. One wolf is described in the following way when first introduced in the novel: "Instantly the huge creature rose, with all the hair bristling along its back, opened a great, red mouth and said in a growling voice..." (Lewis 98). The wolf is associated with a multitude of animalistic, wolf-like traits. The bristling hair, the red mouth, and the growling voice are all characteristics indicative of an animal. He is even at one point described as "like an enormous dog" (Lewis 113). The wolf speaks English like a human in the same way as the other characters do, with this being one of the few human characteristics the wolf does have. The wolf is described as "the gray wolf, Maugrim, the Chief of the Witch's Secret Police" (Lewis 98), thus conveying how the wolf is in servitude to the White Witch but also has the human, British title of being chief of a secret police. His function throughout the book, in the few parts in which he is mentioned, are in relation to his service to the White Witch. The wolf also is given a name, Maugrim, but is rarely if ever referred to as Maugrim. Often, he is called "Wolf" in comparison to the middle class characters, Mr. Tumnus and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, who are almost always referred to by their name and title. The distinction between the middle class and lower class characters lies in the lower class having more animalistic characteristics in comparison to the middle class.
Characters with more human traits, like Mr. Tumnus and Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, are on the good side of the narrative's plot while characters like the wolf are on the bad side. This in part can be attributed to the history of how certain animals are treated in literature. For example, the wolf has a history of being portrayed as evil and aggressive in literature, furthered by the "Big Bad Wolf" stereotype found in multiple early fables. However, by making the wolf have more animal traits and characters like the beavers have more human traits, Lewis is not just feeding off the literary history, but is creating a bigger message behind the connection between humans and animals. Humans have free will while animals do not, and the animals are on the bad side for their lack of free will. The novel places the complexity of humans as superior to the individual, unique traits of animals by placing the complex, free willed characters with more human traits on the good side and the characters with more animal traits who are meant to be in service to another being on the bad side. The novel purposefully places characters with human characteristics on the good side and characters with animal characteristics on the bad side to further the notion that humans are superior to animals.
By the middle class characters having their own free will while the lower class characters are meant to serve the White Witch, Lewis' novel plays into the way Val Plumwood discusses instrumentalism in her piece "Decolonizing relationships with nature." Instrumentalism as described by Val Plumwood is when the "other" is meant to serve and in the case of Lewis' novel, the "other" would be the lower class, animal characters who serve the White Witch. When Val Plumwood discusses instrumentalism she states, "In anthropocentric culture, nature's agency and independence are denied, subsumed in, or remade to coincide with human interests, which are thought to be the source of all value in the world" (Plumwood, 59). Lewis displays the purpose of the lower class to be in servitude to others while the middle class does have a semblance of free will but still looks up to the upper class for answers and aid. The instrumentalism within Lewis' novel both keeps human as superior to animals and furthers the characters being placed in a hierarchal, classist system reminiscent of the British class system.
The role of the children in Narnia as humans who enter a land that is not theirs and who then can be placed in the class system of Narnia is also of relevance to this paper. When discussing the connection between humans and animals in a Eurocentric, classist work it would be wrong to ignore the clear human, British protagonists. The children enter this world which is not their own, are wanted dead by the White Witch for being human, but are admired by many of the other animal characters as heroes to complete a prophecy meant to free the people of Narnia from the White Witch. The humans are praised by the animal characters as heroes which they become as the story progresses. The children start by interacting with the middle class characters, who they ultimately align themselves with. The children then become the kings and queens of Narnia after defeating the White Witch, raising their status in Narnia from middle class to upper class. The humans are the only characters in Narnia who can rise in class status; all the animal characters by the end of the novel maintain the same class status they had at the beginning of the novel. The children's ability to move about in such a structured class system while the animals remain stagnant furthers the anthropocentric nature of the novel by allowing the purely human characters to rise up in class but not the animal characters.
The children's role as British humans with the ability to rise in class also relates to the Eurocentrism in the novel. Lewis creates a fantasy in which his world-building could be based on a variety of already existing countries and mythologies from various cultures, and yet the world of Narnia remains Eurocentric and particularly British. Jamaica Kincaid in her piece A Small Place, puts it best when she states, "I can say to them what went wrong: they should never have left their home, their precious England, a place they loved so much, a place they had to leave but could never forget. And so everywhere they went they turned it into England; and everybody they met they turned English. But no place could ever really be England, and nobody who did not look exactly like them would ever be English..." (Kincaid, 24). While Kincaid is speaking on the British colonial system as a whole, her statement still applies in that the British look for Britain everywhere they go, and this is reflected not only in the areas of the world which have been affected by British colonialism but also in the fantasy genre. By making a fantasy world so clearly based on British culture, the British people, and the British class system and by not branching out to include more diverse or unique characters from other areas of the world, Lewis creates a Eurocentric fantasy world and thus a Eurocentric novel.
Lewis' target audience may have been British middle class children, and as an author who lived and died in Britain, it makes sense for his writing to reflect a British viewpoint. Children's literature in particular focuses on the children's ability to relate to what they are reading. Maria Nikolajeva in her piece, "The Identification Fallacy: Perspective and Subjectivity in Children's Literature," states, "In my thirty year career in children's literature, I have repeatedly and in various situations encountered the firm belief that young readers should be encouraged to 'identify' themselves with one of the characters, normally with the protagonist... Students of children's literature warmly embrace texts that offer identification objects" (Nikolajeva, 188).
The children reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe are going to search for themselves in the story, particularly in the protagonists and with the characters on the good side, and Lewis provides a very distinct idea of what is considered good. By taking a fantasy land and making the good characters resemble the human, British middle class and the bad characters resemble an animal-like, British lower class, Lewis is providing readers with a classist, anthropocentric and Eurocentric perspective. The significance of taking a look at how the animal characters showcase human characteristics lies in Lewis' target audience being so subjected to seeing themselves in the text. The good characters are human, British, and middle class which conveys to the children reading that the characters worthy of identifying with are British, middle class humans. C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe places British, classist characteristics onto the animal characters of the novel and by doing so enforces anthropocentrism and eurocentrism onto impressionable young readers who look to identify with the text.
Kincaid, Jamaica. A Small Place. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1988.
Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. HarperCollins, 1950.
Nikolajeva, Maria. "The Identification Fallacy: Perspective and Subjectivity in Children's Literature." Telling Children's Stories: Narrative Theory and Children's Literature, edited by Mike Cadden, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln; London, 2010, pp. 187–208. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1dfnsch.16. Accessed 13 May 2020.
Nixon, Rob. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Harvard University Press, 2011, pp. 1-44.
Plumwood, Val. "Decolonizing relationships with nature." Decolonizing Nature: Strategies for Conservation in a Post-colonial Era, Earthscan Publications Ltd, pp. 51-78.
Ryan, Derek."Animals as Humans." Animal Theory: A Critical Introduction, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2015, pp. 22–49. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctt1g0b6tc.5. Accessed 13 May 2020
Working on her bachelor's in English with concentrations in Creative Writing and Literature & Media. Since Pand believes in the future of twotwoone, she has returned for a second semester to further work on the journal. She plays tabletop role-playing games and knits in her spare time. Pand plans to enter the publishing field after finishing her bachelor's degree.
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Family Affairs: Sarah Ruhl Brings Her "Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical" Home to Piven Theatre Workshop
April 30, 2015 at 9:33 am by Hugh Iglarsh
by Hugh Iglarsh
April 30, 2015 June 16, 2016 Filed under:
Sarah Ruhl
The area premiere of Sarah Ruhl's "Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical" at Evanston's Piven Theatre Workshop is a big event in a small venue, and therein lies a tale.
The Wilmette-born Ruhl has been honored by everyone from the Pulitzer and Tony committees to the MacArthur Foundation, PEN and the NAACP. In plays like "In the Next Room, " "The Clean House," "Dead Man's Cell Phone," "Passion Play" and "Orlando," Ruhl has established a reputation as an intellectually ambitious writer with a poet's voice whose works are redolent of myth and fantasy, yet grounded in today's social and psychic landscape.
She is, in short, a hot property, her works sought after by major theaters from Yale Rep to the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. to our own Goodman. She also has a powerful, life-long connection to the Piven Theatre Workshop, having begun her dramatic training there in fourth grade. At Piven—described by its artistic director Jennifer Green as a "family affair"—Sarah Ruhl followed in the footsteps of her own mother, actress-teacher Kathleen Ruhl, as well as founders Joyce and Byrne Piven's children, Shira and Jeremy, and such other notables as John and Joan Cusack. And then there's fellow Young People's Company alum Polly Noonan, who is directing the revised "Melancholy Play," having twice starred as Tilly, the doleful bank teller, in the play's original, pre-musical iteration at Piven.
It's impossible to talk about "Melancholy Play" outside the Piven context. And it's equally impossible to describe Piven without noting the intricate web of dynastic connections and artistic lineages at this paradoxical institution, whose ethos is noncommercial and anti-celebrity, yet which has produced a roster of stars and game-changers like Ruhl and her frequent collaborator, writer-director Jessica Thebus. Piven's origins go back to the seminal theater games developed by Hull House instructor Viola Spolin in the 1930s. Equally influential is Spolin's son Paul Sills, who along with David Shepherd and others merged his mother's games with Brechtian dramaturgy to create both modern improv and narrator-driven story theater. The Piven Theatre Workshop is more than a school or stage; it is a living institutional memory of the Chicago theater tradition.
"I grew up thinking story theater was normal," says Ruhl, interviewed by telephone at home while her three children—including five-year-old twins—were at school. "I was shocked at discovering realism later. I learned so much from Joyce Piven, that theater was not about sets or spectacle, but that language was everything, and that narration could be used as a transformative force, creating a very open relationship between audience and stage. I feel like I'm putting literature on stage, not just dialogue."
Ruhl originally wanted to be a poet, but settled on theater after studying with playwright Paula Vogel at Brown. Vogel was immediately struck by her potential, observing that "if Virginia Woolf became a playwright, she'd be someone like Sarah Ruhl."
"Playwrights are strange creatures," comments Ruhl. "We're both introverted and extroverted, and we need the solitude of writing and the collaboration of performance. For me, the happiest moment in the process is the first day I hear a script performed by actors."
Joyce Piven and Polly Noonan
And not just any actors. Raised in the Spolin-Sills tradition of theater as community, Ruhl feels lucky to have her Piven posse behind her.
"What do you have without an ensemble?" she asks. "Well, you can put up a show—but it's more rewarding with collaborators who know you. In New York, it's more of a loose confederation of people. The model isn't necessarily as communal as what I'm used to."
"Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical" premiered in 2012 in a bare-bones, no-critics-allowed run at the now-defunct 13P theater in Brooklyn, with music by New York composer Todd Almond. It's based on a straight dramatic work that premiered a decade earlier.
"It's a farce about melancholy," notes Ruhl. "It's also a speculation about what would happen if the category of melancholy—which had such a huge impact on lyric poetry and Renaissance literature—was eradicated. Of course, depression is a terrible disease. But do we really want a world where you can't have nostalgia, you can't have yearning?"
Set (inevitably) in Normal, Illinois, the play pits what Ruhl calls the "chipper pragmatism of the Midwest" against Tilly's Hamlet-like gloom, illuminating in humorously surreal fashion the unhappy consequences of mandatory joy. The new version was born soon after the twins, when Ruhl wished to work with Almond on a musical but lacked the time to start from scratch.
"It was kamikaze-style musical making," says Ruhl. "I'd never done it before, but it was a seamless collaboration with Todd, free of the usual blood, sweat and tears. He understood the comedy, and was able to score it rhythmically in a way that retained the humor."
The new version of "Melancholy Play" is more of an opera than a conventional musical, with little distinction between libretto and lyrics. "The music is complex and challenging," says director Noonan. "It's fast and frenetic, with delicate moments of slowed-down melody."
While Noonan describes the play as "beautiful, strange and funny, embracing its own silliness," it has a serious side, questioning our culture's discomfort with the darker emotions.
"The play exists on multiple levels," says Noonan. "You can enjoy the ride, and that can be enough. But the play keeps unfolding, reminding us that as we medicate ourselves, we're losing certain elements. The play muses upon what it means to be alive."
The play's theme of emotional fullness and authenticity intersects with Ruhl's history at Piven, with its emphasis on nurturing self-expression within an artistic community. While every show lives or dies on its own merits, knowing the history and connections behind a theatrical event like "Melancholy Play" enriches the experience, rooting it in time and place, and so transforming it from a diversion into something deeper and more real.
"The Piven Theatre Workshop was a major influence on Sarah, and I'm old enough not to be modest about it," says Joyce Piven, the organization's matriarch. "We're not your corner tap-dance school. We provided an atmosphere conducive to her extraordinary talent, and helped open certain vistas to her. There's an organic relationship to Sarah's work, and we're honored and thrilled she's doing it here."
"Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical" runs May 2-June 7 at Piven Theatre Workshop, 927 Noyes, Evanston, (847)866-8049, piventheatre.org, $20-$35.
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Her creative, sartorially experimental downtown crew will undoubtedly flock to the crushed velvet bike shorts and the metallic and denim skirt, the top half of which was brilliantly fashioned from an old pair of jorts. And they're likely to scoop up the playful butterfly prints and new iterations of her neon-detailed fleeces, too.
Elsewhere, she introduced pouf-sleeved minidresses which will have strong mass appeal, ditto her T-shirts and a new printed puffer jacket. Liang is clearly getting more strategic and thinking about her brand's long-term potential, but she isn't losing her magic touch along the way. She knows what makes a piece of clothing desirable to a Gen Z or millennial customer these days; it's about clothing that conjures a feeling more than anything else, whether that feeling is nostalgia or a desire to be cool.


The latest product from suspension company Function & Form (F2 Suspension) is a Type 1 coilover kit for the 2005-13 Audi A3. It joins a number of other high-performance suspension packages for Volkswagen and Audi vehicles.
Following a recent change of ownership and new investment in the company, Function & Form is on a program to rapidly increase its high-performance application. This has included a growing number of suspension options for owners of European cars, including the F10 BMW 5 Series, which was recently added.
The Audi A3 represents the pinnacle of Audi's hot hatch performance, boasting a 2.0L turbocharged engine, sophisticated suspension and optional quattro all-wheel drive. It combines the versatility of a five-door hatchback/wagon layout with the excitement of the 200hp 2.0T engine shared with the VW GTI.
Designed for the Audi A3, the new type 1 coilover kit will fit the 2.0T models built between 2005 and 2013. The included dampers are non-adjustable, offering uprated characteristics over the stock suspension in terms of compression and rebound.
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Some owners may wish to lower the car conservatively by up to 1" to reduce body roll and improve cornering ability with a lower center of gravity. The type 1 coilover kit does also allow Audi A3 owners to lower their car up to 2.75" front and 2.35" rear. This is a considerable drop, designed to appeal to the stance crowd who appreciate the ability to get the car extremely low.
*The coilover kit allows the car to be lowered a considerable amount to give the car an aggressive stance but Function & Form cannot guarantee that even stock wheels will not rub with this amount of suspension lowering. Owners should check tire clearance before driving a lowered vehicle. Modifications may be necessary at certain lowered heights.
The Type 1 coilover is built with simplicity in mind. Function & Form sets the damping characteristics for the customer and chose less aggressive spring rates to match the fixed damping rate. In this case, the Audi A3 is matched to 448 lb/inch front and 336 lb./inch rear coil springs.
The reason the Type 1 coilover is so popular is its durability, quality, ride quality and suitability for lowering. It is recommended for anybody that wants to enjoy performance, quality and a lowered ride height without spending large sums of money. The affordable type 1 coilover kits are easy to install, and will be ready to roll once you set the height.
For this application, the type 1 coilover kit is supplied with top mounts to ensure easy of installation and reliable performance. But don't let simplicity fool you. The type 1 suspension system is constructed with the same materials as the company's more advance type 2 adjustable systems. Function & Form uses the same approach and philosophy for construction strength. The goal was to provide peace of mind whether commuting, cruising or carving canyons.
Customers can choose to upgrade the kit to the optional FPS coil springs. Manufactured in Germany by Eibach, the high-quality springs are designed to soak up the punishment of hard use and help to ensure the tires maintain contact with the pavement. While they do add to the overall cost of the suspension kit, the FPS springs add another level of comfort and control.


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No supervisor or administrator may make an offer contrary to the university policies related to employment, compensation or benefits, nor imply nor state that a contract has been created between the university and the future employee. Only the president or vice presidents may offer employment contracts.
It is the policy of the University to support the efforts of earnest and self-motivated employees to advance in employment by acquiring and/or improving those skills that would qualify them for higher-level positions.
This policy is intended to support the University's efforts to select the most qualified individuals and to support the efforts of current employees to advance.
The campus Human Resources office acts as a clearing house for information, interviews, and approvals regarding selection and/or transfer. Check with them for specific guidelines. Note that several IU campuses print and distribute booklets containing these guidelines.
For Bloomington see Procedures for Recruitment and Selection.
Management shall determine within 30 calendar days of a position becoming vacant to fill it or not. The President of AFSCME Local 1477-01 shall be notified in writing of the decision. If the decision is to fill the position, management shall have 60 calendar days from the date of the job posting to make a job offer, for a total of 90 calendar days.
If a vacant position is to be filled, but management fails to offer the position within 60 calendar days of the job posting, the position will be filled with a Temporary employee until the vacancy is filled with an appointed employee. If management fails to fill the vacancy with a Temporary employee by the 60th day after the job posting, the University will contribute the equivalent amount of the proficient rate for the vacant position into a fund under the provisions of the Reward Plans and Recognition Plans policy for each additional workday that the position is not filled by a Temporary employee. Any amounts contributed to the fund described above will be distributed evenly among the employees in the occupational unit who are actually performing the work of the vacant position. The amount that would be paid to each employee under such circumstances is limited to a maximum amount of $100 per employee per biweekly pay period.
The campus Human Resources office must first review the campus layoff list, if one exists, and refer qualified employees who appear on the list.
All individuals seeking employment with Indiana University must complete a university-approved application form before they can be offered any position.
This requirement also applies to existing employees who are seeking a position in another occupational unit.
An approved application may be a paper or electronic form.
Successful upward mobility for employees may be accomplished through a promotion within the department or by transfer to and promotion within another department. Consequently, managers and supervisors are expected to consider employees for promotion within their own departments and to allow them opportunities to seek transfers to other departments. An atmosphere conducive to exploring promotion or transfer must be maintained.
For AFSCME Police covered positions, successful upward mobility may be accomplished through a promotion within the campus or by transfer and promotion to another campus. Consequently, managers and supervisors are expected to consider employees for promotion on their own campus and to allow them opportunities to seek transfers to other campuses. An atmosphere conducive to exploring promotion or transfer must be maintained.
The university encourages staff to seek promotions and transfers. Therefore, departments may allow staff to take reasonable time away from the job for interviews in other university departments and/or for approved career development.
Staff members do not have to make up the time or charge it to paid time off.
Each supervisor must determine what is "reasonable" time off, keeping in mind the university's favorable attitude toward promotion and transfer.
If a supervisor believes that a staff member's absences are excessive, then he or she can require the employee to make up the time.
Staff members eligible for overtime may be required to charge excessive absences to accumulated time off.
Unless otherwise agreed to by the employee's department or for openings occurring in unique positions requiring unusual skills and abilities—an employee must work in a position for at least six (6) months before requesting a change to another position.
For AFSCME Police covered positions, an employee must work on a job for twelve (12) months before requesting a promotion or transfer, unless otherwise mutually agreed to by management, employee, and the union, and except for openings occurring in jobs of a unique nature requiring unusual skills and abilities.
Six (6) months before requesting a transfer to another job.
For CWA covered positions, unless otherwise mutually agreed to by the employee and the department an employee must work in a position for at least four (4) months before requesting a change to another position.
Final determination of the required length of service will be based on the employee's qualifications in the current position and his/her ability to assume the new position. This determination will be subject to consultation with the campus Human Resources office.
The hiring department must initiate the HRMS E-Doc to obtain the required approvals. The campus Human Resources office may agree to do this.
If a department decides not to fill a listed position, the department will inform University Human Resource Services and the president of the union of this decision.
An employee's hire date is their first day on the job and should not be on a day in which a holiday is observed. See the Holiday Policy.
Campus HR will screen applicant's qualifications for posted positions. It may conduct preliminary interviews and examinations. The HR office will refer qualified candidates that meet the minimum qualifications.
The department will conduct final interviews, evaluations, and reference checks to determine the suitability of the applicants. Departments should instruct the applicant about the position and its conditions of employment.
Ability and qualifications to perform the essential functions of the position with or without reasonable accommodation.
For transfers and promotions, the staff member's attendance record over the last twelve (12) months (not including FMLA or extended periods of sick leave of two weeks or more due to serious illness or injury or approved leaves of absence) should also be considered.
For AFSCME Police covered positions, ILEA Physical Fitness Entry Standards.
For AFSCME Service covered positions at South Bend, seniority.
For CWA covered positions, corrective actions more than three (3) years old shall not be used to deny an otherwise qualified employee an interview for a position, except that corrective actions for serious offenses, as defined in Corrective Action, shall have no expiration as provided under this paragraph.
All relevant factors are to be considered fully. When such factors are found to be relatively equal between two or more candidates, and when at least one candidate is an appointed IU employee, the decision to hire is to be based on occupational unit seniority date first and university seniority date second.
For AFSCME Service covered positions at Bloomington in food service facilities, when some or all of the food service facilities are shut down, preference will be given to RPS food service facilities employees in filling jobs in food service and housing in RPS. When food service facilities are shut down and facilities employees are given preference for work in housing, they will be paid the rate for the job they are performing at the same relative step of the pay rate for the employee's regular position. The job duties and the pay rates will be posted in RPS for the employees' information before they sign up for such work.
Temporary and temporary agency employees in the available position have no seniority.
A written offer of employment is not necessary.
The hiring department will notify the selected candidate. The campus Human Resources office may agree to do this.
For CWA covered position at Northwest, the Human Resources office will notify the selected candidate.
The campus Human Resources office will be notified when the applicant has accepted the position.
At IUPUI, the satisfactory completion of a pre-employment health evaluation, which may include a drug screening, is required prior to reporting for work for individuals hired for work in the dental school, laboratory, hospital, or clinical areas. Candidates cannot work until the satisfactory results of the health evaluation have been released by IUPUI Health Services.
A two (2) week notice period for the start date is recommended.
For AFSCME Police and AFSCME Service covered positions, a two (2) week notice is required. A notice period of less than or more than two weeks must be agreeable to the employee, the employee's current supervisor, and the employee's new supervisor.
However, a shorter or longer period is acceptable if agreed upon between the employee, the hiring department, and the employee's current department.
The campus Human Resources office will aid in coordinating the start date, if requested.
For AFSCME Service covered positions, interdepartmental transfers are to be coordinated through the campus human resources office.
Form I-9: All new employees must complete the Form I-9. Section 1 of the Form I-9 must be completed by the new employee before or on the first day of employment. Section 2 of the Form I-9 must be completed by the hiring department within three (3) business days of the date employment begins. See Form I-9 and E-Verify Requirements for All New Employees.
Criminal Background Check: see the Backgrounds Checks policy for the background checks required for Staff and Temporary positions.
Existing employees may be required to submit to a background check if they will be working in a Program Involving Children (PIC) covered position.
State and Federal Tax Forms: All new employees must complete the required state and federal tax withholding forms.
Once all selection related activities are complete, the department will then inform all applicants in writing or by email that the position has been filled.
The campus Human Resources office may agree to do this.
For AFSCME Service covered positions, the hiring department shall inform in writing all bargaining unit applicants that were considered, including interviewees, that the position has been filled, the name of the person selected, their seniority date, and the basis for selecting another applicant rather than employee; either best qualifications or most seniority.
When seniority is not followed in promoting an employee within the Service Maintenance (SM) classification, departments must be prepared to show that the qualifications of the employee selected are significantly greater. Upon request, the employee, or an AFSCME representative on behalf of the employee, is entitled to a written response detailing the reasons that seniority was not followed in the selection process.
For AFSCME Service covered employees at Bloomington and South Bend, for promotions only, when a senior employee who meets the minimum qualifications is not selected, the hiring supervisor shall notify the employee in writing of the decision and the related qualifications of the person selected that are significantly greater.
The basis for the selection, i.e., qualifications, seniority, other.
For PA/SS and CWA covered positions at Bloomington, each week Employment Services will publish the name of the person selected and the position on the IU Human Resources website.
Appointed staff positions must be at least 50% FTE.
The combined FTE for all appointed positions held by one person cannot exceed 100% FTE.
An individual cannot hold an appointed PAE position (not eligible for overtime) and an appointed PAO or Support and Service Staff position (eligible for overtime) at the same time. See the campus Human Resources office for valid combinations involving a PAU job.
An employee in a PAO or Support and Service Staff position (eligible for overtime) may also be employed in a Temporary position paid at a bona-fide hourly rate for the work performed in the temporary job.
Biweekly paid employees may not be employed in a second job that is paid as a flat dollar amount for the work performed.
Departments should consult with the campus Human Resources office in determining a bona-fide hourly rate for the work performed in the temporary job.
Contact the campus Human Resources office if there are any questions about a specific situation.
Before filling any position, the department must follow the provisions for establishing Temporary positions in the Temporary Positions policy and obtain any campus-required approvals.
All individuals seeking employment with Indiana University must complete a university-approved application form before they can be offered any position. This requirement also applies to existing employees who are seeking another position. An approved application may be a paper or electronic form. Check with the campus Human Resources office for specific application instructions and procedures.
The hiring department will determine the process it will use to select among its applicants. This could include interviews and consideration of such factors as 1) experience, 2) past work performance, 3) job-related educational background, 4) ability and qualifications to perform the work, 5) attendance record, 6) availability, and 7) reference check. Length of service is not a formally recognized factor in filling Temporary positions.
See the Nepotism policy for the procedures to develop an approved nepotism management plan.
See the Employment of IU Students policy for the procedures to employ an Indiana University student.
See the Employment of Minors policy for the procedures to secure an employment certificate of a minor.
Staff positions are defined as budgeted line positions and are eligible for such benefits as health care, life insurance, the IU tuition benefit, vacation, and other paid time off benefits, depending on the FTE status of the position.
Temporary positions are defined as those employees not occupying a budgeted line position and are temporary. These positions are not eligible for such benefits as health care, life insurance, the IU tuition benefit, vacation, and other paid time off benefits.
Under Procedures updated #3 in Post Selection Activities.


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Plathypena obesalis är en fjärilsart som beskrevs av Stephens. Plathypena obesalis ingår i släktet Plathypena och familjen nattflyn. Inga underarter finns listade i Catalogue of Life.

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Home » Point/Counterpoint: Domestic vs. Imported Cast Iron Pipe
Point/Counterpoint: Domestic vs. Imported Cast Iron Pipe
Point: When It Comes to Imported Cast Iron, It's Buyer Beware
Issue: 8/02
By Joe Christiansen, IGGC Inc.
Joe Christiansen is vice president and general manager of Interstate General Government Contractors (IGGC), Inc., a mechanical contracting firm based in Savanah, GA. He is also president of Geothermal Energy Management and a general partner of the Port Development Group.
A few months ago, President George Bush enacted sweeping tariffs and quotas on a number of imported steel products, sending ripples throughout the manufacturing and construction sectors. Domestic steel makers had sought the action as a means of battling subsidized imports that were being "dumped" in the U.S. at prices far below their cost.
Faced with many of the same challenges as the steel makers, the cast iron soil pipe industry has followed the tariff issue closely. Both industries provide important manufacturing jobs for U.S. workers. Both industries have an impact on construction. Both industries are being hurt by unfair trade practices.
In fact, in a 5-0 vote on April 8, the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled that there is a "reasonable indication" that nonmalleable cast iron fittings made in China are being sold at "less than fair value" in the United States. This finding is significant, particularly because as a new member of the World Trade Organization, China is now subject to the same anti-dumping rules as other member countries. The implication is clear. Without fair, rules-based trade, "free" trade cannot exist.
Unlike many of the old-line steel producers, domestic cast iron foundries have been investing in technology and automation. By plowing capital back into their processes and improving production techniques, today's foundries have become modern, efficient, low-cost producers.
In contrast, despite assertions to the contrary, many foreign foundries remain state-owned or enjoy huge government subsidies. They don't have to worry about the high cost of capital, making it difficult for private domestic foundries to compete. And depending on the country of origin, environmental and safety regulations can be lax, or in some cases, non-existent, along with the high costs associated with meeting those regulations. While American manufacturers can compete with anyone in the world on a level playing field, the unfair advantages enjoyed by subsidized foreign foundries, particularly Chinese foundries, cross the boundary of fairness.
There are larger issues at stake here as well. In many industries--steel, cast iron and textiles, to name a few--the United States is swiftly losing its domestic manufacturing capabilities. In fact, there are only three domestic cast iron soil pipe foundries left in the United States. Free trade purists say measures like the steel tariff drive up the cost of goods and hurt the economy. But there are broader economic and national security concerns to losing manufacturing jobs and having to rely on imported goods to sustain us. Maintaining a strong manufacturing sector will help to keep our economy and military strong. When this is understood, "Buy American" becomes more than just a slogan.
The cost of goods and materials is a legitimate concern when it comes to plumbing contractors--after all, who doesn't want to pay the lowest prices? Specifically, Chinese cast iron pipe and fittings are often available at a price that seems too good to pass up. Pipe is pipe, right? So why not buy the cheap stuff and save a few bucks?
If "Buy American" is not enough of an incentive, then perhaps issues like consistency of quality, reliability and availability are. Before you put your reputation on the line with imported cast iron, consider the following.
Manufacturing high quality cast iron is a difficult and demanding process. Cooling rates, wall thickness, alloy content and chemical composition all dramatically impact the strength, quality and integrity of the iron. In order to make uniform, high quality castings, Carbon Equivalent (CE), graphite and silicon must be controlled, and a constant, optimum pouring temperature maintained.
With domestic foundries, you can be sure of the quality. For example, Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, based in Charlotte, NC, monitors and controls the chemical properties and temperature of its iron on an hourly basis to be sure it meets stringent standards for quality. Charlotte also measures weight, thickness and laying length for dimensional accuracy to ensure that inside and outside diameters conform to all code specifications. Finally, water testing is done on every piece of cast iron pipe before it rolls off the line.
In addition, as a service to the engineering and contracting community, the Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute (CISPI) inspectors perform quality control and conformance tests on inventories of all member U.S. foundries three times a year. These inspections help ensure that domestic pipe and fitting systems will perform as required by U.S. plumbing codes and product standards.
On the other hand, imports are sometimes marked with ASTM or CISPI standard numbers. But it is often unclear if the products have been manufactured to ASTM or CISPI standards. In addition, some imports carry the trademarks of long defunct or nonexistent domestic foundries--markings that have the capacity to mislead, because they imply that the material was made in the U.S. A few importers have even been caught copying trademarks of operating domestic foundries--a blatant violation of trademark and unfair competition laws, including the Trademark Counterfeiting Act.
Because it's difficult to track the ownership of many foreign foundries, customers may not be able to ascertain for sure where the material was made or if it meets the quality requirements of the standards. Without reliable and accurate data concerning the raw materials and casting methods used to produce the material, those specifying the pipe and fittings are left to guess whether the products being used will perform as expected.
If you are concerned about the quality of the material you are buying, ask for the corresponding testing data that includes the date of manufacture and the maker's (not the importer's) name and address. Only then can you be sure of the chemical composition and quality. Some testing of imported material is done here in the United States. But, according to ASTM A888 (Standard Specification for Hubless Cast Iron Soil Pipe and Fittings), testing and inspection must be conducted before shipment. If not, there can be no way to address a quality issue after the fact, particularly since many imported materials lack the proper markings to allow a customer to identify who manufactured the products in the first place.
There is another factor to consider as well. A recent review of the OSHA Hazardous Communications-required Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) distributed by an importer of Chinese pipe products revealed the startling presence of asbestos fibers in the coating of imported pipe and fittings.
Engineers at AB&I Foundry in Oakland, CA, a domestic foundry that was testing Chinese imports, were shocked to see asbestos reported in the MSDS data and could not explain why it would be used in the production of cast iron DWV. Severe health problems and life threatening diseases have been linked to exposure to asbestos, and it is prohibited in almost all types of construction. A wholesaler or contractor that used pipe or fittings with asbestos coatings, wittingly or unwittingly, could face huge legal costs and financial penalties.
According to AB&I, the MSDS data published by this Southern California importer of cast iron DWV states that this asbestos is completely encapsulated by asphalt. "But what happens when the pipe is cut in the field using an abrasive saw?" asks AB&I's Kip Wixson. "Is the obvious dusting that occurs during cutting exposing plumbers and others to dangerous air-borne asbestos?"
Few would want to expose themselves to the liability of dealing with hazardous material. "The courts are clogged with liability cases involving workers and others who were exposed to asbestos and got sick," says Wixson. It's not just manufacturing companies that are being sued. According to the March 2002 issue of Fortune magazine, boilermaker Babcock & Wilcox was merely a purchaser of asbestos products, but went bankrupt anyway due to asbestos litigation. Fortune reports that asbestos filings against some defendants have nearly tripled in the last three years. And if asbestos isn't enough, arsenic also has been detected in samples of imported cast iron soil pipe. And finally, a purchaser needs to be sure his suppliers check for radiation in the scrap they process, as there have been several instances where tainted materials have led to costly product recalls.
So you can see, producing high quality cast iron is no easy task. It's critical that you know the manufacturer of the materials you buy and that you can validate their claims concerning quality, reliability and compliance to manufacturing standards.
If you are considering buying imported cast iron, ask yourself a few tough questions first. Will your importer back the quality of your material? Will he stand behind you if a problem should occur? Are you willing to take that chance? Once harm to your reputation is done, earning back that trust can be a challenging prospect.
Counterpoint: Imported Cast Iron Pipe Meets Same Quality Standards As U.S. Pipe
By Paula M. Bowe, Josam Company & Affiliates
Paula Bowe is vice president of marketing for Josam Company and Affiliates. She has been with Josam for 17 years. She can be reached at Richmond Foundry, Inc., 2501 S. Front Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148, ph. (215) 339-5370, fax (800) 962-3312.
The article by Mr. Christiansen of IGGC Inc. purports to compare the current plight of the United States steel industry to the cast iron soil pipe industry. The comparison is wholly inappropriate and not based upon fact. First and foremost, steel is used in a variety of essential industries, of which the construction industry is but a small segment.
The problem within the steel industry is simply a matter of supply and demand. Most countries recognize for national security and economic reasons that they must maintain a domestic steel industry. However, the world produces excess steel, and the only way for most countries to sustain their domestic industry is through extensive use of subsidies and trade barriers. In the past decade, the U.S. steel industry has invested more than $50 billion in new plants, resulting in the development of new equipment and technology. In short, these new mills have replaced the old mills, and U.S. steel mills are now universally recognized as highly modern and competitive, compared to the antiquated facilities which plagued the industry in the past. The abundance of steel creates its own problems when the global economy becomes distressed and excess producers are tempted to dump steel to dispose of surplus product. This is more likely the main reason, politically motivated or not, why President George Bush enacted tariffs on a number of steel imports.
Dumping normally involves a foreign company that enjoys high prices and profits at home as a result of high trade barriers against imports. The company uses those profits to sell at much lower prices in foreign markets to build market share and suppress the profitability of competitors with open markets.(1) In my experience as an importer of cast iron soil pipe and fittings, I do not find this particular situation to be the case in our industry. The initial governmental reaction to complaints of unfair trade in the steel industry make it increasingly likely that anti-dumping laws and their close cousins, countervailing duties (which act against subsidized imports), will become the primary policy tools for responding to the current tide of imports.(1) It is apparent that the producers of domestic cast iron soil pipe are jumping on this bandwagon and trumpeting the same old tired arguments of "protectionism" vs. "free trade."
The statements made in Mr. Christiansen's article lead the reader to believe that many foreign foundries producing cast iron soil pipe and fittings in China enjoy huge government subsidies. This is simply not true. China has come a long way in the last decade, developing from a non-market economy where cost and price defined by market conditions had little meaning. The Chinese foundries utilized by our company are not state owned, nor do they enjoy huge government subsidies. The foundries that we deal with are cooperatively or privately owned. It has been my experience that making a profit is just as entrepreneurial with our counterparts in China as it is with my associates in the United States. Mr. Christiansen suggests that foreign foundries don't have to pay freight. If foreign foundries don't have to worry about the shipping costs to the United States, then who incurs these costs? Contrary to the assertion in his article, freight costs incurred on imports from foreign foundries are costs that substantially influence the bottom line gross profitability of an imported product. Ocean freight, incoming inland freight, duty, taxes, destination and delivery charges, pier fees, brokerage charges and outgoing freight from the importers are all fees that are added costs to imported products.
By our best educated guess, in 2001 only about 5% of the total net sales of cast iron pipe and fittings in the United States were imported. In a time span of nearly 20 years, foreign foundries have captured only about a 5-10% share of the entire U.S. market of cast iron soil pipe and fittings. We will leave it to the reader decide if "old-fashioned trade protectionism" is really the core issue and reason for Mr. Christiansen's article.
Biased journalism producing articles like Mr. Christiansen's lead to the erosion of political support for open trade, which in turn could threaten the world trade system. It is for this reason that we cannot allow such articles to be ignored without response. The other important and very detrimental effect is the message which articles like this send to our trading partners, not just in the steel industry, but also in all industries. Trade restraint of the sort proposed by Mr. Christiansen has produced retaliation by the international community and threatens future trade agreements, to the ultimate detriment of American consumers. More than 12.8 million Americans are employed in industries (autos & appliances, for example) which use imported steel, compared to 170,000 workers in the U.S. steel industry--a ratio of 57 to 1.(2) Studies have shown that quotas on steel imports and a steel surtax could cost nine jobs in steel-using industries for every single job it protects in the steel industry.(3)
Only after you wade through the first few paragraphs of fluff of the article do you get to the message which Mr. Christiansen is trying to convey by innuendo and speculation--beware of low cost Chinese cast iron available at prices that seem too good to pass up because you should be wary of the incompetence of such importers. Has the integrity of our industry gotten so bad that it is necessary for the domestic producers to warn educated and experienced professionals to be real careful before putting their reputation on the line? Give the industry a little more credit! If I were a buyer, I would be insulted! If a person is entrusted with the responsibility for making purchasing decisions for a company, that person is normally deemed qualified and does not need such warnings about the value of preserving his or her reputation.
Although safety issues are not part of the manufacturing standards for cast iron pipe and fittings, we are very conscientious of such concerns, as are our Chinese producing foundries. Although we do not understand where foundry safety issues are relevant to compliance issues, I do find the fact that this point was made to be quite ironic. On December 29, 2000, a News & Analysis @ safety online Web site headline read: "OSHA fines Texas foundry over $1 million following work-place fatality." The article was referring to one of the three remaining domestic producers of cast iron soil pipe. The article reported that OSHA has cited the foundry, "But our continued visits reveal that safety has not been a primary concern to management. More than 60% of this company's maintenance employees have been injured on the job, including two fatalities and numerous amputations."
It is important to keep in mind that we are talking about 21,000 psi cast iron used in soil pipe. Although Mr. Christiansen would like the reader to believe differently, the process to make this product is neither difficult nor demanding. The manufacturing processes cited in the article are required by the standards. In short, manufacturers which produce this product should, and must, follow these manufacturing practices. I can say with certainty that our producing foundries strictly adhere to these practices and our products do perform as expected. As an importer of cast iron soil pipe and fittings, our company backs its products by taking financial responsibility for the quality of the products we supply to our customers.
Mr. Christiansen's article is but a continuation of the flow of rhetoric from the three remaining domestic producers. Through their trade association, CISPI (Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute), they have conducted a five-year systematic campaign to attack importers and unjustifiably frighten the U.S. consumer from purchasing foreign-made cast iron soil pipe and fittings. The domestic producers have hamstrung distributors from purchasing imports through their marketing practices and policies. They continue to bring forth unwarranted and unnecessary changes in the existing codes and standards. They repeatedly interfere with buyers and potential buyers by making unsupported disparaging comments to plumbing inspectors, engineers and building owners about the quality of imported product. Despite the many obstacles created by the domestic producers, knowledgeable consumers realize what's really going on and continue to purchase high quality product, made to the applicable standards, which perform as intended and are backed by responsible importers. The marketplace itself has always and will continue to weed out manufacturers, both domestic and foreign, which do not produce quality and compliant product. The companies that will thrive are those that supply quality and are willing to be financially responsible for the pipe and fittings they distribute.
1. Mastel, Greg, "The U.S. steel industry and antidumping law," (www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1093/3_42/54682629/print.jhtml).
2. SteelTradeFacts.info Web site (www.SteelTradeFacts.info).
3. CITAC Web site (www.citac.info/latest.ifi_article.htm).
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Americas|Starting Friday, U.S. Will Ease Restrictions on Travel to Cuba
Starting Friday, U.S. Will Ease Restrictions on Travel to Cuba
Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, commented on the announcement that beginning Friday, the United States will ease restrictions on travel to Cuba.CreditCreditPablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press
By Peter Baker and Randal C. Archibold
WASHINGTON — For decades, the aging tourist mecca of Havana beckoned, but the United States did not make it easy for Americans hoping to visit. They had to justify their trips to a government agency, apply for licenses, sign up with a company organizing "people to people" exchanges, or circumvent the law altogether by flying somewhere else first.
As of Friday, the door will open a lot wider. While ordinary tourism remains banned by law, new rules put in place by President Obama will make it easier for Americans to visit Cuba than it has been for most of the last half-century. If airlines begin regular service between the United States and Cuba, as they quickly moved to do, it could soon be as simple as logging on to a computer to order a ticket and checking a box to say the trip serves a legitimate purpose.
The rules will usher in a new era of contact between neighbors that have been estranged for longer than most of their citizens have been alive. It will be easier not only to travel, but also to send money. American telecommunications providers, financial institutions and agricultural companies will be given more opportunities to do business in Cuba. Visitors will be allowed to spend more, use credit cards and even bring home up to $100 in Cuban cigars.
United Airlines announced on Thursday that it planned to seek approval to begin regular service to Cuba from Newark and Houston. American Airlines, which operates charter flights to Cuba from Miami and Tampa, Fla., said it was reviewing the rule changes.
"This is basically the end of the travel ban, once they work out the kinks," said Julia E. Sweig, a longtime scholar and author on Cuba. "At first glance, the new regulations look to allow most Americans to travel to Cuba without having to ask for permission in advance, and by booking air travel directly rather than through authorized groups and agencies."
That is not to say everything will suddenly be possible. The embargo imposed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1960 after Fidel Castro stormed to power remains in effect, and most trade is still illegal. Travelers will have to certify that their visits are for educational, religious, cultural, journalistic, humanitarian or family purposes, among other permitted categories.
Some analysts warned against expecting quick, drastic change. Visitors will still need visas from the Cuban government, and the island's aging hotels and restaurants may not be able to accommodate them all.
A girl left for school last week in Havana as her grandmother watched. Americans have long had to justify their visits to Cuba.CreditAndrea Bruce for The New York Times
"Where are all these people going to eat?" asked John S. Kavulich, a senior policy adviser at the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council, a nonprofit group of businesses. "Where are all these people going to stay? The excitement, the exuberance, is just out in another galaxy. You can only do what can be done."
Moreover, those traveling on people-to-people exchanges will still need to go with a group that maintains a full schedule of approved activities. "So a couple cannot go to Cuba to educate themselves on a subject like Cuban music," said Robert L. Muse, a lawyer experienced in laws relating to Cuba. "They can only go under the auspices of an organization that arranges a structured educational trip."
Still, while educational exchanges have been one of the most common forms of travel to Cuba in recent years, government officials said Thursday that they expected the new rules to make solo visits outside of such arrangements more frequent, because it will be easier to travel under other permitted categories.
The rules put into reality the changes Mr. Obama promised last month when he announced plans to resume normal diplomatic relations with Havana for the first time since 1961. The administration made this latest move after Cuba freed 53 political prisoners it had agreed to release as part of a deal between Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro, Fidel's brother.
Critics said Mr. Obama was playing into the hands of the Castro brothers by relaxing sanctions without obtaining commitments from them to expand freedoms for Cubans. Cuba remains one of the most repressive nations in the world, according to human rights groups and the State Department, which have cataloged the ways it smothers dissent through arbitrary arrests, government intimidation, selective prosecution and control of the news media.
"This is a windfall for the Castro regime that will be used to fund its repression against Cubans, as well as its activities against U.S. national interests in Latin America and beyond," said Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida.
Mr. Rubio, who is Cuban-American, sent a letter this week to Jacob J. Lew, the Treasury secretary, questioning whether the new rules violated American law. "While those questions remain unanswered," Mr. Rubio said Thursday, "one thing that's become even more crystal clear is that this one-sided deal is enriching a tyrant and his regime."
Mr. Obama argues that the approach of the last 50 years has not worked and that it is time to try something new. Officials said Thursday that they were confident the new rules complied with the law, and Mr. Lew said they would benefit Cubans.
New rules put in place by President Obama are making it easier for Americans to visit Cuba than it has been for half a century. Still, some analysts warn that Cuba's aging infrastructure may not be able to accommodate the fervent interest quite so fast. CreditDesmond Boylan/Reuters
"These changes will have a direct impact in further engaging and empowering the Cuban people, promoting positive change for Cuba's citizens," he said.
"Cuba has real potential for economic growth," Mr. Lew added, "and by increasing travel, commerce, communications and private business development between the United States and Cuba, the United States can help the Cuban people determine their own future."
Cuba is the only country in the world to which United States law bans Americans from traveling as tourists. For years, Americans have found ways to bypass those restrictions, and Mr. Obama has twice before changed the rules to allow more exceptions.
According to the Cuban government, 98,000 Americans visited Cuba in 2012, a year after Mr. Obama most recently eased restrictions — twice as many as traveled there five years earlier. That does not include many more Cuban-Americans who visit each year but are not counted by Havana because they are still considered Cubans.
Under previous rules, Americans wanting to travel legally to Cuba had to justify their trips under one of 12 categories and, in some cases, obtain a license from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Under the new rules, Americans will not need specific licenses to certify they fit those categories.
Just as important, airlines will be allowed to open regular commercial routes to Cuba once a civil aviation agreement is struck with Havana. Currently, they can operate only charter flights under a government license. About 300,000 passengers took charter flights to Cuba from Miami last year, and another 30,000 flew from Tampa, according to officials at those airports. In Tampa, the number was up 50 percent in just two years.
The Cuban government made no comment on Thursday but published articles on the changes on state news sites. Many Cubans embraced the new regulations but expressed skepticism that the United States would follow through.
"Of course I want more customers and support, but I will wait until they are here to believe it," said Juanita Ceballos, who rents a room in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, a favorite of tourists.
But others were encouraged by the higher ceiling on remittances, which are a major source of income for some families. "It will decrease the stress of living day to day," said Herminia Salvador, 41, a former government secretary largely supported by money from relatives in Florida.
Peter Baker reported from Washington, and Randal C. Archibold from Havana. Frances Robles contributed reporting from Miami, and Victoria Burnett from Mexico City.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 6 of the New York edition with the headline: U.S. to Relax Limits on Cuba Travel, Opening Door to Commercial Flights. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe
Cuba: A New Start