UNION CRIES FOUL AT MEDECO

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

DATE: THURSDAY, March 11, 1993                   TAG: 9303110098
SECTION: MISCELLANEOUS                    PAGE: A13   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
UNION CRIES FOUL AT MEDECO
On the eve of tonight's union representation vote at Medeco Security Locks in Salem, two union organizers claimed the company is forcing workers to attend meetings but has refused to answer their questions.
The claims came from Charles Van Dellen and Denis O'Donnell, representatives of the International Union of Electronic Workers.
A National Labor Relations Board election for about 330 eligible Medeco employees to vote on IUE representation will run from 10 p.m. to midnight today and continue Friday, 10 a.m. to noon.
The company has held informational meetings at which questions were not entertained, said Chris Christensen, director of human resources at the plant. "No one requested questions that I know of," he said.
One employee left a meeting and a couple did not attend but were not disciplined, Christensen said.
Van Dellen and O'Donnell said the company "is trying to scare workers" by showing them films of strikes. Christensen acknowledged Medeco has shown strike films, "but they were no different than the evening news." He said a video "can show the people what a strike looks like. The facts speak for themselves."
The IUE representatives said the company is conducting "an anti-union campaign . . . a travesty of democracy." Employees who support the union have shown "tremendous courage and determination," Van Dellen and O'Donnell said.
Christensen said the company "believes our employees ought to be aware of facets of unionization and what it means. We have provided them with factual information so they can make an intelligent decision" when they vote.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB