Newspapers / The Chowan Herald (Edenton, … / June 25, 1987, edition 1 / Page 1
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Local Plant Employees Will Vote Next Week On Joining Union By JEANETTE WHITE The controversy over unionizing , workers at Atlantic Forest Pro ducts is getting hotter as union of ficials fight to enter and AFP of ficials fight to keep the doors >- closed. The International Union of Elec tronic, Electrical, Salaried, Machine and Furniture Workers, AFL-CIO, more commonly called IUE, is the group leading the union effort. IUE representative Frank ■j Rothweiler of Portsmouth, Va., ‘ said a 1981 vote defeating prior unionization was overturned by the National Labor Relations Board, which judged AFP ac tivities prior to the vote to be in violation of labor lows. Richard Dixon, manager of AFP, said the vote defeated the union bid two-to-one and "they protested”. In a telephone interview last week, Dixon said he did not know the name of the union attempting to get into the plant, nor had he spoken with a union official. Rothweiler produced a regis tered letter Wednesday which he received from Dixon in May with a full name and address of the union. The New York based union leading the 1980-81 effort has now joined IUE, which Rothweiler said has 3,000 members in this state through seven local chapters. The representative said IUE had cards signed by more than half the 100 hourly workers at AFP requesting another vote. Rothweiler said one of the main complaints from workers is wages, which have not been rais ed in four years. Dixon said his workers had received raises. IUE said AFP is owned by McMillan-Bloedel Inc. of Canada and 80 percent of that corpora tion’s employees are union members receiving from $2 to $10 per hour more than those in Edenton. Dixon said that comparison is like matching oranges and apples because it compares local salaries with those in Canada and urban areas. “They are throwing out a lot of numbers and statistics,...compar ing papermills and sawmills," Dixon said. Another issue is workers whe say AFP does not honor seniority Rothweiler said, and that a pen sion plan started after the 1981 bic was not retroactive for workers prior to that year. The union rep classified jobs ai AFP as “hard, dangerous..with i lot of accidents” and 80 percent o the workers receive $5 to $7 |xrr hour for “breathing sawdust ail day” in a building with no air conditioning. Dixon has said wood supplies for AFP are diminishing, hut Rothweiler said the union had talked with truck drivers, who deliver raw products to the plant, and drivers say; the supply is plentiful. Rothweiler said other com panies in the county are suppor ting AFP because if wages and working conditions are improved at that site, other businesses may be forced to follow suit. “We’re into improving- em ployees’ pay and in the long run that will improyc the commu nity. Workers will have more sending power,” he said. Dixon said raises and salaries are based on economic conditions and that his company is "fighting for survival..We don’t need a union causing more problems”. The union representative said he is concerned with the amount of pressure under which AFP workers are laboring until the issue is determined. When AFP employees vote Ju ly 2 it will take a majority, which could be just one vote, to bring IUE into the plant. THE CHOWAN HERALD Published In The Most Beautiful Little City On The North Carolina Coast Volume LLIII - No. 26 Edenton, North Carolina, Thursday, June 25, 1987 Single Copies 25 Cents A Timely Decision May we here at the Chowan Herald join others along the ') Public Parade in congratulating * the board of county commis sioners on their decision to take the initiative in redistricting the county so as to give blacks a bet ter chance at the polls. As chairman of the Congres sional Redistricting Committee in the house in 1981, we learned that, under existing federal law, large a> blocs of blacks cannot be ignored when voting districts are being considered. Some members were hard to convince and it took three separate plans and two trips to the Department of Justice to convince ^^ThCn, asfthe General Assembly began drawing new voting district lines for the election of its own * members, it found it necessary to divide county lines -- something the state constitution prohibited - in order not to submerge concen trations of black citizens in still larger concentrations of whites. This was strong medicine for a group of lawmakers who had come to regard gerrymandering as a bad thing; but they took it % with as good grace as could have been expected. Now, a county with as large a number of blacks as Chowan and with a history of having elected nc black to the board of county com missioners in modern times ob viously does not meet the re quirements of the new federal rj standards; and for the ap propriate officials to recognize Continued On Page 4 gram at Rocky Hock Community Center had opportunity to tour a Coast Guard HH3F Pelikan helicopter after It touched down on the baitfieJd around 2:30pm Tuesday. Edenton Fire Dept, had a pumper ^available at the site as Rocky Hock resident Betty Bass followed i through the big chopper, V ’. mm™ Town And County Taxes Held At Previous Levels Residents in Edenton and Chowan will not have to dig deeper into their pocket after governing bodies this week adopted budgets calling for no tax increase. Monday, county commissioners approved a $4.6 million general fund budget, followed Tuesday by adoption of a town budget of $12,898,719. The town had a five-cent tax in crease last year but Chowan com Shootings Are Probed Two 18-year-old white males are suspects in an investigation into random shootings in the county Chowan Sheriff Fred Spruill said buildings and cars victimiz ed by the shootings appeared to have no connection. A .22-caliber rifle was used to shoot a window at Holmes Cafe teria, a window and wall at the county ASCS office, a pillar and door at the farm bureau office and six bullets through two plate glass windows at Virginia Fork Service Station. Two shots fired into a car own ed by Leroy Alexander on N.C. 32 and one shot each into two vehicles pwned by Rob Boyce on Route 1. Spruill said the Boyce family heard the shots, but were not aware the sounds were gunfire. Spruill said when warrants are issued, six charges of damage to personal property will be filed. Investigating officer is Deputy James White. missioners were the first in the area to take the heat from voters after a 12-cent tax hike. Loss of federal revenue sharing funds left holes in the county’s in come and local commissioners said last year other counties would eventually be forced to follow their lead. Their prediction is coming true after surrounding counties are looking at sizeable increases this year. The biggest item in the town’s new budget is $7,097,052 for elec trical service, followed by $2,685,768 for capital projects. Those projects include waste water treatment plant construc tion, armory renovations for senior citizens’ use, an industrial development study, peak genera tion construction at the power > plant and extensioa^of water, and sewer lines on N.C. 32. Next line item is $2,018,623 for the general fund. Those funds in clude $497,141 for the police department, $342,802 for ad ministrative services, $231,473 for the street department, $229,540 for fire protection, $219,816 for sanita tion, $195,412 for recreation, $136,919 for garage services, $31,146 for cemetery services, $41,731 for inspection and zoning, $28,400 for the town’s governing Continued On Page 4 Damage Estimate Is Made Steel has been ordered to repair damaged Chowan River Bridge, but it may be several months before actual restoration begins. Meanwhile, an engineer with the N.C. Dept, of Transportation said examination proves the bridge is safe for both road and river traffic. The bridge was damaged June 5 when a large piece of logging Closings Noted The Edenton Municipal Building will be closed on Fri day, July 3, in observance of the Independence Day holiday. Trash collection for the week of June 29 through July 3 will be carried out as follows: East Side - Monday and Wed nesday; West Side - Tuesday and Thursday. Chowan County offices will also be closed Friday, July 3. Other area closings will in clude the following: Shepard-Pruden Library in Edenton will be closed on Fri day., July 3 and Saturday, Ju ly 4. The Edenton Post Office will be open on Friday, July,3, but will be closed on Saturday, Ju ly 4. Local banks will be open all day Friday, July 3, to handle Social Security checks and other bank transactions, but | m £K ■ y,-- 1 NEW CLUB—Members of the newly formed Yeopim Ruritan Club received their charter on June 16. Holding the charter are president Steve Biggs and vice-president Larry Johnson. Shown along with other members are Sam Walker, Ruritan District Governor (left) and Cotton McClenney (right) a national direc Pete Ward and Bryant Griffin. The^club meets at Bob and Sharon's Barbeque on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. Election Filing Is Opening On July 3 Three seats on Edenton Town Council and the mayor’s post are up for grabs in the November municipal election and it appears likely that Mayor John Dowd will face opposition. Former mayor Roy Harrell, who ran unsuccessfully against equipment struck overhead beams in the draw section of the span. R.L. Spence of Williamston, bridge maintenance superinten dent, said even though materials have been ordered, it could take up to 90 days for the steel to be customized to fit repair needs. Spence said no official estimate had been placed on the amount of damage to the bridge, but a “ballpark figure” would be Continued On Page 4 Dowd in the last election, said, “I’m leaning very heavily toward filing again.” Mayor Dowd has announced his intention to seek reelection and said, “We have started several good projects that we couldn’t complete in just two years.” Dowd said he would like to see completion of the 911 emergency telephone service and the town's waste water treatment plant. He indicated a desire to keep "the spirit of cooperation between the town and county going”. Marina Crummey, incumbent for one of the town’s at-large coun cil seats, said she plans to seek reelection. Herbert Hollowed, incumbent from the first ward, said he was not sure if he would seek reelec tion but expected to make a deci sion soon. Hollowed has served on town council for 19 years. Steve Hampton, councilman from the second ward, said “I haven’t made up my mind” con cerning plans to seek reelection. Friday, July 3 at noon is the first day prospective candidates may file to run for office. According to Marie W. Akins, supervisor of elections, the filing period will be from noon July 3 un til August 7 at noon. There is a $5 filing fee for the mayor’s seat, first and second ward council persons' seats and the at-large couneilperson’s seat. To be a candidate for mayor or town council, a candidate must reside in Edenton and be a registered voter. Prospective candidates may file a notice of candidacy with Mrs. Opal Kehayes, board of elections chairman, or Mrs. Akins. Continued On Page 4 BRILLIANT DISPLAY—A bright array of fireworks will explode over the Edenton Bay during the “Fabulous Fourth of July Festival" sponsored by the Chowan-Edenton Optimist Club. A variety of activities will take place at the Waterfront Park in downtown Edenton including music, games and crafts. (Related story on Page 4-A)
The Chowan Herald (Edenton, N.C.)
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June 25, 1987, edition 1
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