THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 12, 1995 TAG: 9508120080
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short : 40 lines
Bell Atlantic reported some progress Friday in contract talks with a union representing most of its employees, but a union spokesman said talks with the phone company had not been productive.
Bell Atlantic, which covers Virginia, is the last of five regional Bell companies with expired contracts that has yet to reach a new accord.
``We've had a fairly productive bargaining session,'' said Bell Atlantic spokesman Eric Rabe. Issues dealing with job security and retirees are now part of the main discussions, he said.
But Jeffrey Miller, spokesman for the Communications Workers of America, said: ``I don't know what the company means by progress. There's been very little discussion and no progress on key issues - job security, wage and benefits and access to jobs.''
Rabe said he believed talks with the Communications Workers of America would continue into next week.
Meanwhile, negotiations are taking place in Denver between US West and the CWA and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Their contracts with the regional Bell company expire at midnight Saturday.
US West has 33,000 CWA workers in 14 states and 500 IBEW workers, said spokesman Dave Banks.
With both sides reporting fruitful contract talks with US West, prospects for a strike appear remote, union and company representatives have said.
On Thursday, frustrated by a lack of progress in talks with Bell Atlantic, the CWA said it was seriously considering a strike.
Presidents of 130 CWA locals plan to meet Saturday to assess the situation, Miller said. by CNB