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

DATE: FRIDAY, November 26, 1993                   TAG: 9311260083
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: OAKWOOD                                LENGTH: Medium

COALFIELD TOWNS HOPE STRIKE ENDS

Residents of Buchanan County, the only Virginia county with mines closed by the six-month United Mine Workers strike, are holding out hope that a settlement can be reached in time for happy holidays.

UMW sent its pickets home Tuesday, and striking miners at CONSOL Inc.'s Virginia Pocahontas Nos. 3, 5, and 6 mines were waiting for an announcement of a final agreement between the union and members of the Bituminous Coal Operators Association.

Dennis Burress, president of UMW Local 2421, said he was not expecting an agreement until after Thanksgiving.

"I still feel it's going to be in the near future," Burress said Wednesday night.

Contract explanation meetings will be held throughout the coalfields after a tentative settlement is announced, and miners will vote in a secret ballot within 48 hours of hearing the contract explained.

Burress said he has been swamped with phone calls from the local's membership.

"They are calling to ask if I've heard anything," he said. "They're still thinking they will have to go back to the picket lines, because it's taking so long for them to say they've reached a tentative agreement. They're thinking now that they may have to go back to picketing after the holidays."

Mediator Bill Usery had not issued a news release Thursday, and union spokesman Jim Grossfeld and owners' association spokesman Tom Hoffman have said negotiations were continuing.

"I'm certainly anxious to see it end," said Geraldine Shortridge, president of the Buchanan County Chamber of Commerce. "It has hurt the economy in the area, and I would like to see it settled so the miners could get back to work with the holidays coming."

Shortridge, who owns Shortridge Motel and The Silver Shop, said the strike had definitely affected her business. She said she believed that most businesses in the area could feel the effects.

Jon Rife, president of Rife Chevrolet and Rife's TV & Appliance, said an end to the strike would help the local economy.

"We'd love to see them get back to work - for us, and for the miners and their families," Rife said. "Maybe with that, we can all look forward to happy holidays."

by CNB