Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 22, 1993 TAG: 9307220107
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press and Staff Reports<
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
PORTSMOUTH - The federation of unions representing most workers at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard says the Navy illegally picked hundreds of senior workers to be laid off to keep younger, less experienced people on the job.
The federation is seeking to halt October layoffs of many of the 1,300 workers at the government-owned shipyard.
Workers with less seniority should be let go, said James Seidl, a representative of the AFL-CIO's Metal Trades Department in Washington, D.C.
A spokesman for the Virginia yard said he could not respond to the complaint. - Associated Press
Coke subsidiaries create partnership
Two subsidiaries of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated have formed a new partnership. The Charlotte, N.C., company also owns the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Roanoke.
The subsidiaries in the new venture are Palmetto Bottling Co. of Wilson, N.C., and Coca-Cola Ventures Inc. of Beaufort, S.C. Their new partnership, called Carolina Coca-Cola Bottling Partnership, distributes the beverage in several Southeastern states. - Staff report
Coca-Cola to build bottling plant in China
HONG KONG - Coca-Cola Co. announced Wednesday a joint venture with Hong Kong-based Kerry group to invest in bottling plants in China and said an agreement to build the first one has been signed.
Kerry Beverages Ltd., the new partnership is to build a $26 million plant producing Coca-Cola products and Chinese-brand soft drinks in Shenyang in northeastern Liaoning province. Production will begin in early 1995, the partners said.
Atlanta-based Coke is working on a $250 million China investment program over the next five years. - Journal of Commerce
Jobless claims rise from low in May
Initial unemployment claims in Virginia rose 17.1 percent in June, to 21,508 from May's 18,372.
May's figure was a 44-month low, however. And the figure compares favorably with 32,040 new claims for jobless benefits filed in June 1992.
The Virginia Employment Commission said many plants close around the July 4 holiday and some workers, especially those without seniority, file for benefits because they are not paid during the company-declared furloughs.
The VEC said, however, that most such closings this year will be reported in August.
"Through July 10, vacation initial claims were running only 62 percent of last year's moderate level, indicating inventories are generally well in balance with orders," the VEC said. - Associated Press
FTC split on case against Microsoft
WASHINGTON - The Federal Trade Commission declined again Tuesday to issue an antitrust complaint against Microsoft Corp., the computer software giant accused by competitors of unfair business tactics.
For the second time this year, the commission deadlocked 2-2 on whether to bring an administrative complaint against Microsoft, said sources familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The panel split along the same lines in February when it declined to issue a broader antitrust complaint against Microsoft, which has been the focus of allegations that it has tried to stifle competition.
Among the charges from competitors is that Microsoft purposely designs its products to be incompatible with utility software programs offered by other companies. Competitors also claim Microsoft gains an unfair advantage by giving huge discounts on MS-DOS to computer manufacturers who pay a royalty on every machine they sell. - Associated Press
State asked to save farms near cities
VIRGINIA BEACH - A task force should be established to study ways to save farms near Virginia's cities, a former state agriculture commissioner said.
"It's a tremendous challenge for us today to interpret and wrestle with the position of agriculture in those areas," said Richard D. Chumney, agriculture commissioner from 1962 to 1966. "It's important that action be taken to encourage that land to remain in agriculture." He spoke Tuesday to the state Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Chumney said more than half the nation's produce comes from counties that border on metropolitan areas.
Clinton V. Turner, the current agriculture commissioner, said a group of employees from the state, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University are studying the problem. - Associated Press
by CNB