
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 8, 1991                   TAG: 9103080822
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

GROUP CANCELS CONVENTION BECAUSE OF LABOR DISPUTES

A second group has canceled its convention because of the labor dispute between Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the union representing its hotel and restaurant workers, officials said.

Richard A. Schreiber, Colonial Williamsburg vice president and chief business officer, told City Council on Thursday that a conference scheduled for July had been called off because of union troubles.

"They told us they could not come to Williamsburg and cross picket lines," Schreiber said. "They said the activity would disrupt their meetings."

Both Schreiber and James C. Miles, executive vice president, refused to name the group, which Miles said had booked 300 rooms for four nights.

Miles said the cancellation had "political overtones similar to the Democrats," referring to the earlier cancellation by the House Democratic Caucus, which was originally slated for this weekend. The Democrats canceled in January because the caucus did not want to cross picket lines.

The two did not want to identify the group because Colonial Williamsburg wants the organization, which has held its meetings here in the past, to return in future years.

The group would have brought 350 to 375 people to the city, Miles said. The group informed Colonial Williamsburg by phone of the cancellation Wednesday, he said.

Minor Christian, president of Local 32 of the Food and Beverage Workers, said the union was unaware of the cancellation and could not comment.

The union represents about 1,400 workers at hotels and restaurants. Members have selectively picketed the attraction's sites since their contract expired at midnight Dec. 31. Union members rejected Colonial Williamsburg's contract offer in December.

Schreiber presented a gloomy tourism forecast to the City Council for the coming year. He said surveys completed in December indicate the economic picture is bleak for the areas that provide Williamsburg with many of its visitors.

Major northeast markets - including Boston and New York - have been the hardest hit by the recession, which hurts the area's tourist trade.

Colonial Williamsburg requested $530,000 from the city, the same amount it received for the current fiscal year. The money goes toward its $5.9 million advertising budget, Schreiber said.

Schreiber said some signs suggest there might be a rebound, but he told council members, "We're still in a recession. We need to remember that."

by CNB