
DATE: Friday, August 8, 1997                TAG: 9708080647

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MICHAEL CLARK, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  130 lines

UPS TALKING; PICKETS STILL WALKING STRIKERS ARE CHEERED BY RESUMPTION OF TALKS - AND BY THEIR PAYCHECKS.

Teamsters picketing the United Parcel Service facility on Air Rail Avenue in Virginia Beach crossed the union picket lines Thursday, but not to return to work. They were picking up their last paychecks, and quickly leaving.

The odd scene of striking employees receiving paychecks from the company they're picketing highlighted the fourth day on the local scene of the national labor negotiations.

In Washington, UPS management agreed to resume contract talks with the Teamsters. The meeting Thursday afternoon came at the urging of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

But the company said its last offer remained its final offer, and the union insisted that its members won't return to work unless the company creates more full-time jobs and drops a pension proposal.

Teamsters President Ron Carey said he was willing to stay at the table straight through the weekend if the company was willing to negotiate at Thursday's session.

``But if it's just a smoke screen, we're out of here,'' he said.

In Hampton Roads, knowledge of the Washington meeting improved morale on the picket lines - as did the paychecks - but area businesses continued to feel the impact of the strike on the world's largest package delivery service.

``We're happy they're going to get back together,'' said James Cotterell, full-time UPS driver and union shop steward. ``We're all positive. The main thing is they're back together.''

The issues dividing the 185,000 Teamsters on strike and UPS management remain the same: creating full-time jobs for part-time workers, ensuring that UPS does not pull out of the Teamsters' multi-employer pension plan, and limiting subcontracting of shipping.

UPS employs about one of every 400 workers in the United States. In Hampton Roads, the number is one of 660 workers. Of the 1,000 local employees, 700 are Teamsters.

The jobs issue is most important to Cotterell, 40. He worked part time for six months in 1988 before he was hired full time.

``I'm here for the part-timers,'' he said. ``If I got in there in six months, they should have the same opportunity.''

The local Teamsters posted the names of union members who have crossed the picket line. The six names are written on a poster outside the gate where the picket line begins.

Cotterell said he'd never talk to them again.

``I'm starving, too,'' he said.

The impact of the strike in Hampton Roads also continues to be felt away from the picket lines.

Dina Spiva, manager of Postal Express in Chesapeake, said her store is dealing with the strike and with restrictions from the U.S. Postal Service.

No more than four packages per person per visit are taken at the post office window.

``The postman picks up four and I take four over later,'' she said. Another employee makes a run by the end of the day and any packages left are the first out the next day.

Before the strike, UPS picked up 18 to 20 packages a day from Postal Express, Spiva said.

If customers are upset about the strike, it's because no service will guarantee delivery, she said.

``Nobody's guaranteeing anything,'' Spiva said. ``If you've got a mortgage payment going out, you might have a problem.''

The post office is handling its share of the overflow, said USPS spokeswoman Fran Sansone.

``It's just starting to look a little like Christmas.''

The post office has seen a 40 percent increase in both Express Mail and Priority Mail, Sansone said.

Those designations parallel UPS expedited deliveries.

``As the strike hit and progressed, we expected to see the destinating volume increase in both,'' she said.

``Outbound, we've seen increases, but it's hard to judge,'' Sansone said. ``This area is more of a destination than an origination.''

While the strike continues, Tim Cooper, co-owner of Naro Expanded Video in Norfolk, is waiting for Guffman. Or waiting for a video release called ``Waiting for Guffman.''

It's one of six releases he would have next week if not for the strike.

Most film studios use UPS to ship video releases to distributors, Cooper said.

``I don't think I'm going to get them,'' he said. ``Business will be down a little.''

Despite using UPS to deliver lottery tickets to retailers, the Virginia Lottery will not miss a game during the strike, said George Sawyer, regional manager.

With about 2,600 retailers in Hampton Roads receiving lottery tickets each week, Sawyer said the 12 sales reps took to the road this week.

``The tickets were shipped down to this office from the central office in Richmond, and the sales reps delivered tickets in their own territory,'' Sawyer said. ``I even delivered some.''

That's how Virginia Lottery's six other regions in the state are operating, too, Sawyer said.

``Right now, I don't see any interruption.''

David Vinson, president of Teamsters Local 822, is pleased with the uninterrupted - and mostly uncrossed - picket lines at UPS facilities.

``Out of 189,000 Teamsters, fewer than 5,000 workers have crossed the picket lines,'' he told union members picketing Thursday on Air Rail Avenue.

``They can't continue, they can't maintain,'' he said of UPS.

Vinson encouraged union members to accept their UPS paychecks and an accompanying envelope of information from the company on its contract proposal to the Teamsters.

He then told the members that the union ``will man the picket lines minimally'' Saturday morning and meet at the union hall in Norfolk.

``Keep the packet together,'' Vinson said. ``We're going to gather them Saturday and burn them.'' MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot

At the facility on Air Rail Avenue in Virginia Beach, part-time

driver Jeff Watkins, left, and full-timer Darin Smith pick up their

paychecks Thursday. With the checks were details of the UPS contract

offer.

In Somerville, Mass., police struggle to keep striking UPS workers

back as delivery trucks head out for the day. Some strikers became

unruly as the strike moved into its fourth day on Thursday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

UPS STRIKE

DAY FOUR

Talks between UPS management and the Teamsters resumed Thursday