DATE: Tuesday, March 18, 1997               TAG: 9703180262

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: SMITHFIELD                        LENGTH:   20 lines

GWALTNEY WORKERS REJECT DEAL, TALKS ON

Members of Teamsters Local 822 have voted to reject a new contract with pork proceesor Gwaltney but plan to meet again with the company for further talks, officials said.

The rejection Sunday night authorized a strike, a month after the old contract expired, at Gwaltney plants in Smithfield and Portsmouth. The workers want higher pay, a shorter contract and less mandatory overtime.

A Gwaltney official said he was confident a strike could be avoided.

``We will go back to the table,'' said Norman Fisher, vice president of human resources for Gwaltney, a subsidiary of Norfolk-based Smithfield Foods Inc.

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