THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, December 2, 1995 TAG: 9512020562
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Norfolk Naval Shipyard is releasing about 100 temporary and on-call employees because its workload has slipped a little, a yard spokesman said Friday. The spokesman called the move a response to routine workload fluctuations. Five ships have left the yard in the past two weeks for sea trials, reducing the public shipyard's manning requirements. The yard still employs about 7,000 permanently. While it's never a good time to release workers, the spokesman said, it's particularly unfortunate that it happened before Christmas. (Staff) Freight railroads reach pact with union
After a year of contract talks, freight railroads, including Norfolk Southern Corp., reached a tentative accord Friday with the United Transportation Union, the nation's largest rail union. It was the first agreement the railroads have managed to craft with any of the 13 labor groups involved in the current bargaining round, which began last year. The accord resolves wage, benefit and work rule issues and lays the groundwork for a new five-year collective bargaining agreement. It covers trainmen, conductors, engine service workers and yardmasters. The contract needs to be approved by union members. (Bloomberg Business News) FCC approves Gannett's purchase of Multimedia
Gannett Co. said Thursday it has won approval from the Federal Communications Commission to buy Multimedia Inc. In July, the Arlington-based publisher of USA Today and other newspapers agreed to buy Multimedia for $1.7 billion in cash. The purchase of Greenville, S.C.-based Multimedia moves Gannett further into the television industry and expands its newspaper holdings. Multimedia owns five network-affiliated television stations, cable TV franchisees with 432,000 subscribers in five states, syndicated television shows and 60 daily and weekly newspapers. The two companies expect the purchase to close Dec. 4. At that time, Multimedia shareholders will receive 45 1/4 a share in cash. (Bloomberg Business News) by CNB