Front Page || Main Index || Corpus Christi News || Business || Texas || Sports || Entertainment || Selena
Friday, Aug. 21, 1998
Talks continue between U S West and CWA
Negotiators impose gag order until agreement is reached; both sides appeal to public for sympathy
By SANDY SHORE
Associated PressDENVER - Negotiators for U S West Inc. and the union representing its striking employees met Thursday under a self-imposed gag order as both sides stepped up advertising and media campaigns to win public sympathy.
Federal mediator Jim Mahon led the discussions, the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides since the strike was called Sunday. The talks ended after 7 1/2 hours Thursday, and no new sessions were scheduled.
Representatives of the Baby Bell telephone company and the Communications Workers of America said negotiators agreed to stop making public comments while talks are ongoing.
``What the mediator wants to do is get the stories out of the press and get them talking,'' said Bill Thornburg, a spokesman for the union's District 7.
Disputed issues include mandatory overtime, a company proposal to base some pay on job performance and health-care benefits.
The strike began early Sunday, sending about 34,000 workers off the job in 13 states. An estimated 15,000 managers are working 12-hour shifts to meet customer needs. It is the first labor strike in U S West's 14-year history.
At a news conference, company officials distributed information from a union Internet Web site detailing a multimillion-dollar campaign focusing on the public and utility regulators.
The campaign is designed to ``let management know they are in a fight,'' CWA president Morton Bahr wrote in an Aug. 17 letter posted the site.
Mike Fernandez, U S West vice president of communications, called the campaign negative and said it threatened to extend the strike.
``What is very unfortunate about this is we're beginning to see the first seeds of this right as we are going back to the table,'' he said. ``There's a difference between trying to articulate your position and trying to beat up on a company.''
Company officials gained access to the password-protected area of the site from a CWA employee.
Candice Johnson, a spokeswoman at CWA's national headquarters, declined to specify how much the union is spending on the campaign. She rejected the company's contention that the campaign is negative, saying it focuses on the union position.
National union officials are ``going to support these strikers at all costs,'' Thornburg said, as he picketed outside a U S West building. ``Perhaps they don't understand when we walk out the door, it's economic war.''
U S West spokesman David Beigie said the company has spent about $1 million since the strike began to place radio, television and newspaper advertising outlining its position. The money came from the company's general advertising budget.
U S West has about 25 million customers in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The strike has not affected the company in Montana, where its workers belong to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The two sides have extended the current contract indefinitely until a new agreement is reached.Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web