Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 13, 1990 TAG: 9003133186
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER SOUTHWEST BUREAU
DATELINE: LEBANON LENGTH: Medium
The judge convicted 12 other defendants who did show up for trial of obstructing free passage at the Russell County Courthouse Aug. 23 by physically blocking the doorway.
All 22 labor leaders took part in the sit-in and allowed themselves to be arrested as a show of support for the UMW strike against Pittston Coal, which had been under way since April 5, 1989. The strike was settled when UMW members in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky voted Feb. 19 to accept a negotiated contract.
Judge William Alexander gave the 12 defendants who appeared as scheduled Monday a choice of each paying a $75 fine immediately, or returning June 4 to appear before him again. If the defendants have had no new charges filed against them in the meantime, he said, he would dismiss the sit-in charges altogether.
Alexander said he would require the 10 who did not show up to be present June 4 as well. If they do not appear then, they will be tried in their absence and arrest orders will be issued against them, he said.
Those who failed to appear, in addition to Kirkland and Trumka, were Lenore Miller, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union; Leon Lynch, national vice president, United Steelworkers of America; Thomas R. Donahue, secretary-treasurer, AFL-CIO; George Leitz, president, Transport Workers Union of America; David Chandler St. John, Arlington; Richard C. Wilson, Washington, D.C.; Kenneth Young, Silver Spring, Md.; and Dennis Eugene Beal, Lebanon.
Alexander said the fact that they were not present Monday was due to a communications mix-up.
Their attorneys had thought that they could choose to be tried in their absence, as some judges brought in from other jurisdictions to hear the thousands of misdemeanor charges stemming from strike activities in Southwest Virginia had allowed.
But Fred Harman, a Tazewell County lawyer named to prosecute these cases, said he believed that the defendants should be required to appear in person and Alexander agreed with him.
Those who came Monday as scheduled entered pleas of not guilty to the charges.
They were George Kourpias, president, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; Jim Booe, secretary-treasurer, Communication Workers of America; Henry Duffy, president, Air Line Pilots Association; William Bywater, president, International Union of Electrical Workers; John Gannon, former president, International Association of Fire Fighters; Gerald McEntee, president, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; John Sweeney, president, Service Employees International Union; David Laws, Virginia State AFL-CIO president; Daniel LeBlanc, Virginia State AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer; Russell Axom; Georgia Dumfrey; and Susan Dunlop.
They waited through several other strike-related trials, which included charges of possessing and distributing jackrocks, used to flatten tires during the strike, and saw other strike-related convictions dismissed against people whose records remained clear of additional charges since their trials months ago.
After signing a recognizance to return June 4, the 12 left in a group. Most of them were driven to Tri-Cities Airport near Bristol, Tenn., for flights home.
The only witness in the case was Russell County Sheriff Trigg Fields, who testified that he warned the 22 people they were breaking the law and gave them 10 minutes to stop blocking the courthouse entrance.
He said he then asked if it would do any good for him to wait longer and was told it would not, so he and his deputies began the arrests. He said all of the defendants were cooperative and walked with the law enforcement officers to the jail.
by CNB