Phone Workers on Strike, Negotiations Continue

Strategic Insights -

Thousands of phone workers went on strike from Maine to Virginia as negotiations between Bell Atlantic and the Communications Workers of America failed to produce a new three-year contract. The strike involves workers in 14 states and Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, BellAtlantic's rival, BellSouth Corp., reached a tentative agreement with the CWA, avoiding a similar strike. In Washington, D.C., the chairman of the House committee that cited Atty. Gen. Janet Reno for contempt says he will bring the charges to the House floor if she continues to resist the committee's probe of campaign finances. The UN has suspended new inspections of Iraqi arms sites in response to Baghdad's refusal to cooperate with weapons monitors. A high-rise fire in New Jersey killed six people, including a woman who jumped from a balcony. A mother in Utah drove around the neighborhood searching for her five children, who were found dead in the trunk of her car.

Key Takeaways:

  • 73,000 phone workers went on strike from Maine to Virginia over hiring practices and job security concerns.
  • Negotiations between Bell Atlantic and the Communications Workers of America failed to produce a new three-year contract.
  • BellSouth Corp. reached a tentative agreement with the CWA, avoiding a potential strike.
  • The chairman of the House committee that cited Atty. Gen. Janet Reno for contempt says he will bring the charges to the House floor if she continues to resist the committee's probe of campaign finances.
  • The UN has suspended new inspections of Iraqi arms sites in response to Baghdad's refusal to cooperate with weapons monitors.
  • A high-rise fire in New Jersey killed six people, including a woman who jumped from a balcony.
  • A mother in Utah drove around the neighborhood searching for her five children, who were found dead in the trunk of her car.
  • The fire in the high-rise building injured 20 firefighters, and the cause is still unclear.
  • The woman who jumped from the balcony of the high-rise fire panicked as rescuers tried to reach her and died.

Statistics:

  • 73,000: The number of phone workers on strike from Maine to Virginia.
  • 14: The number of states involved in the phone workers' strike, in addition to Washington, D.C.
  • 20: The number of firefighters injured in the high-rise fire in New Jersey.
  • 5: The number of children who died in the trunk of their mother's car in Utah.
  • $1 million: The estimated value of the French painting stolen from the Auckland Art Gallery in New Zealand.

Sources:

  • The Associated Press
  • Los Angeles Times
  • Washington Post
  • Reuters
  • Scripps Howard