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

DATE: TUESDAY, October 5, 1993                   TAG: 9310050065
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: FAIRLAWN                                LENGTH: Short

UNION RECOMMENDS CONTRACT TO MEMBERS

Union officials at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant are urging workers to approve a new one-year contract with Hercules Inc. that includes a 3.5 percent raise and a slight reduction in insurance costs.

Members of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union will vote Wednesday to accept the contract or go on strike.

Contract negotiations with Hercules, the government contractor at the plant, ended Monday morning.

The union's current contract with Hercules was approved in 1989, but the arsenal has undergone many changes since then.

The Defense Department's demand for propellant has decreased dramatically, and Hercules has been forced to lay off more than 2,000 workers.

There are roughly 1,670 workers at the plant, and 1,064 are represented by the union.

by CNB