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

DATE: THURSDAY, November 3, 1994                   TAG: 9411030089
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

UNION FEE AT ARSENAL IS LEGAL

Q: The new union contract with Hercules at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant says we who work here have to belong to the union. We figured that is a violation of the right-to-work law. What law are they going by that requires us to join the union?

R.V., Radford

A: Your question is sparked by a new provision in the contract negotiated by Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union Local 3-495.

Union and arsenal officials agreed that no one is required to join the union.

However, workers covered by the contract are required to pay $27.22 per month as a fee for union service. It's no longer called "union dues," but now it extends to everyone as a fee for the service of union representation.

The arsenal is legally regarded as a "federal enclave" because of its government contracts.

Ken Thompson, president of the local, said the law has been on the books awhile, but the union just recently discovered that the arsenal met the definition of a federal enclave, allowing it to negotiate a union security clause in the contract.

Blimp stopover

Q: There has been a blimp at the Roanoke Regional Airport for a few days. Why is it there? Roanoke doesn't get many blimps.

N.N., Roanoke

A: The Metropolitan Life blimp was grounded by weather.

It stopped here because of low visibility and a low cloud ceiling, and hung around for 21/2 days because of the recent gusty winds.

The airship departed Roanoke on Wednesday to complete its trip to Kentucky.

There's no plan for Roanoke to become a blimp base, although the Blockbuster blimp recently made a public appearance here.

Big-tree pride

A couple of weeks ago in an item about large, exotic trees in the Roanoke area, I said the dawn redwood "has been known to make it here."

We can never be sure when a phrase is going to strike a nerve with the reading public.

Several owners of dawn redwoods eagerly called to report their trees are not only "making it" but are thriving.

Jim Wilson of Martinsville reports his redwood is 75 feet tall and is approaching its fourth decade. Looks good, too, he says.

John Peterson, a forestry professor at Virginia Tech, said the dawn redwood, biological name "metasequoia," is a native of Asia. (I credited it to California.) There are several on the Tech campus.

Conclusion: Tree fanciers are passionate about their plantings. This isn't a contest, though. If someone has a dawn redwood taller than 75 feet, there's no argument here.

Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.

by CNB