Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 6, 1994 TAG: 9401060246
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
WASHINGTON - Teamsters Union leaders, afraid their strike fund will go broke by summer, voted Wednesday to ask their 1.4 million members to raise their dues to finance a bailout.
It is the first time the AFL-CIO's largest affiliate has allowed its members to decide a dues increase through a referendum.
The Teamsters said they are spending $34 million a year on strike benefits, and without the higher dues the strike fund will run out of money in June. They said the union's general fund would run dry sometime in 1995.
The union said strike benefits were raised in 1991 from a maximum of $55 a week to $200 a week, but dues have not been raised in 10 years and remain $3.70 per month per member. - Associated Press
Ford recall cites corrosion hazard
DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. is recalling 1.1 million Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable and Lincoln Continental cars because road salt might cause parts of their frames to corrode and separate.
Ford is mailing notices to owners of 1989-93 models originally sold or on the road in 14 upper-Midwest and Northeastern states as well as six Canadian provinces.
In vehicles exposed to large amounts of road salt and moisture, Ford said, body mounts could corrode and separate, dropping the rear of the frame supporting the engine and transmission and making steering difficult.
Ford said it knows of five reports of the condition in the newly recalled vehicles but no accidents or injuries.
Ford said Tuesday it will install a reinforcement plate and replace the attaching bolts without charge. - Associated Press
Tax offices to open in Sam's Clubs
VIRGINIA BEACH - Jackson Hewitt Inc. has reached an agreement with the Sam's Club division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to test tax offices inside Sam's.
John Hewitt, president of the Virginia Beach-based tax service, said this week that as many as 20 offices will open in Sam's in six states, including Virginia. Jackson Hewitt is the nation's second-largest tax service after H&R Block.
The deal with Sam's is a pilot program. "But they have about 400 stores altogether," Hewitt said, "and we're hoping to be in all of them eventually, if they're happy."
Hewitt also said its previously announced plan to convert from a private concern to a publicly traded company should be complete by the end of January, pending review by the Securities and Exchange Commission. - Associated Press
Excursion trains to run again in fall
HARRISONBURG - The Virginia Central Railroad, which entertained nearly 7,000 passengers on excursions from Gordonsville to Clifton Forge last fall, plans to run the line for another season.
The trains were sold out and there was a waiting list of 1,000 when the trips ended in October, Sally Kammauff of Charlottesville, president of the railroad, said.
CSX Corp. was reluctant at first to allow the trips on its rail lines but became "extremely cooperative" when the scenic railroad came up with a solid plan, she said.
But CSX has raised its liability-insurance requirement to $200 million, which Kammauff said was "pretty prohibitive." She said she may try to persuade CSX to lower the requirement or share the coverage with other railroads.
- Associated Press
by CNB