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

DATE: FRIDAY, April 8, 1994                   TAG: 9404080241
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IN BUSINESS

The Teamsters union strike against 22 companies enters its third day today with no further talks scheduled, but indications are the walkout could narrow to a confrontation between organized labor and the four large less-than-truckload carriers that dominate the industry.

The four - ABF Freight System, CF Motor Freight, Roadway Express and Yellow Freight System - employ about 65,000 Teamsters and move about $7.5 billion worth of freight annually.

Management's bargaining unit, Trucking Management Inc., released 18 other members to seek interim or ``me-too'' agreements, saying they would accept any final TMI-Teamster agreement terms and cover retroactive increases.

Meanwhile, the union representing East Coast and Gulf Coast longshoremen said they would honor Teamsters picket lines, as their West Coast counterparts already have, at Sea-Land Service Inc.'s terminals. Sea-Land's trucking subsidiary is one of the 22 companies shut down by the Teamsters.

- Journal of Commerce

TCI opens digital formatting facility

WASHINGTON - The nation's largest cable TV company stepped into the digital revolution Thursday, unveiling new programs that will take up less space on cable systems and could increase the number of available channels tenfold.

It is the first crucial step toward the much ballyhooed ``500 channel'' future, when cable systems will be able to substantially increase capacity and possibly revenues.

Tele-Communications Inc. opened a $100 million facility in a Denver suburb where movies and other programs will be converted from analog into a compacted digital format. These programs will be delivered via satellite and fiber optic cables to TCI cable systems and others opting to buy the service.

- Associated Press