The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 29

Ik Akron Boacon Journal Thursday, June 6, 1985 B9 United strike wased on a plane high-tech By Sharon Cohen Associated Prtss CHICAGO United Airlines and its striking pilots are turning to videotapes, computers and satellites to beam their war of words across the nation in a modern version of an old-fashioned labor struggle. While strikers still pound the pavement in picket lines and wear sandwich boards, the 20-day walkout by 5,000 pilots is much more an automated duel with millions of dollars spent and millions more at stake. The airline on Wednesday declined an invitation from the National Mediation Board to resume the talks today, saying settes and donated the money to a flight attendants' contingency fund, union officials said. The union has held three nationwide teleconferences, the last one beamed from thicago to 14 cities. About $150,000 to $200,000 was spent to produce each teleconference and a private firm was hired to assist, Skiados said.

Striking pilots also have offices in nine cities linked by computer. And Skiados said the union has organized "family awareness coordinators." More than 560 strikers and their families are sent videotapes weekly to keep them informed. a tentative agreement has been reached on all the contractual issues. The two sides have split over a back-to-work agreement. Weapons in the strike include video-cassettes, computers, satellites, nationwide teleconferences and special consultants.

"This is the age of communications," said Capt. John LeRoy, a striking pilot. "Our pilots and families are more totally informed than probably any group of union members has been before." "The traditional strike where one sets up a picket line and a union president tells his members not to go to work and everybody doesn't go, those days are over," said Don Skiados, national communications director for the Air Line Pilots Association. With thousands of pilots across the country, he added, "the only way to get to them and get them on a quick basis is to use high tech." For its part, United shipped two sets of videotapes to every pilot's home. One sent about a week before the strike began showed United chairman Richard Ferris and another company official discussing the issues and their intention to operate even with a walkout, United spokesman Joe Hopkins said.

"It's a very effective way to communicate with people," he said. Sending tapes to pilots' homes showed "how important we felt it was." A second videotape, of Ferris' May 28 news conference, was sent out last weekend, Hopkins added. Also, a short tape United made after the strike was available through satellite feed to hundreds of U.S. television stations. United won't say how much it has spent on this effort, but Skiados said the union has channeled about $2 million into its campaign and has the money because it planned for the possibility of a strike for nine months.

Many strikers shipped copies of the first United tape back to the union, which sold them as second-hand cas- Good investmen up mm I "yaw. imy twMUjHHHtW.i lHU.imii1ulMT..uy wmi i ww high; new mm at- Research praised by Celeste Irtiiiiaiiii Inin mmimmmm volume heavy itiii 7V Wilt i mmmmmmmmmm American Express to 47, and Ford Motor to 44. Bankamerica led the active list and fell yA to 19 on top of a 1-point loss Tuesday, when the company said it expected second-quarter results to fall to "near the break-even point." Diamond Shamrock lost to 16. A Wall Street Journal article said there was talk the company might reduce its dividend. The daily tally on the Big Board showed more than three issues rising in price for every two that lost ground.

a By Doug Oplinger Beacon Journal assistant business editor Ohio is becoming a better spawning ground for research and development, following the state's investment in a series of research centers, Gov. Richard F. Celeste told several hundred chemists Wednesday at the University of Akron. Celeste, speaking at the regional meeting of the American Chemical Society, said Ohio invested $32 million in six research centers and prompted matching investments by corporations. The governor said the aim of the effort, known at the Thomas Edison Program, is to conduct research that will lead to the development of products for manufacture in Ohio.

"We're building a bridge between basic research and applications to business processes," Celeste said. "My view is that you don't build from scratch, you build on your competitive strengths." About 1,000 chemists from the Midwest are meeting at the university for a series of programs on medical, polymer and inorganic chemistry. Celeste said the state has committed $4.1 million to the Edison Polymer Institute, a joint venture by the University of Akron and Case Western Reserve University. Christopher M. Coburn, dire- fV if vfi'i Associated Press NEW YORK The stock market pressed ahead to new highs in active trading Wednesday, as interest rates continued to slide.

The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials rose 5.26 points to surpassing the record of 1,315.41 set last Friday. Volume on the New York Stock Exchange reached 143.87 million shares, the heaviest total in more than two weeks, against 115.42 million Tuesday. The market retreated today as interest rates stopped falling. At noon the Dow average was down 2.91 points to 1,317.65, with losers outnumbering gainers by about 3 to 2 on the Big Board. In the credit markets, prices of long-term government bonds, which move in the opposite direction from interest rates, moved up $5 to $10 for every $1,000 in face value.

Analysts said talk of renewed downward pressure on oil prices helped encourage demand for bonds, which are sensitive to expectations about the inflation rate. Interest rates also have fallen on persistent signs of sluggishness in the economy. But brokers said stock traders apparently believe rates will come down far enough to revive business activity and avert any severe recession. Wang Laboratories class shares, on the American Stock Exchange, tumbled 1 to 15. The company said it expected to post an operating loss for the fiscal fourth quarter ending June 30.

Among other Amex technology issues, Amdahl fell 1 to 12 Dataproducts to 10, and TIE Communications to 5. In the Big Board's technology sector, Digital Equipment was down 5 at 99; Data General 2 at 34; Computervision 1 at 13; Hewlett-Packard 1 to 32, and International Business Machines iy4 to 128. General Motors, which emerged the winner in the bidding to acquire Hughes Aircraft, gained to 72. Among other actively traded blue chips, Minnesota Mining Manufacturing rose 1 to 76; American plans a hub. in Nashville Associated Press NASHVILLE American Airlines, moving to expand its presence in the Southeast, said Wednesday it plans to establish a hub in Nashville by late 1987.

Nashville would become American's third major connecting center along with the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago's O'Hare American, the principal unit 6f Fort Worth-based AMR said it eventually may schedule as many as 135 daily flights from Nashville Metropolitan Airport to 60 destinations. It also said the new hub is expected to create at least 1,350 jobs for the Nashville area. "What it's going to do is" open us up to so many cities across the country," said Jack Vaughn, general manager of the Opryland Hotel and Convention Center arid vice chairman of the Metro Tourism Commission in Nashville. "There are so few direct, nonstop flights from the West Coast. Right now it's a long, drawn-out process to get here from San Diego, or L.A.

it takes a half a day or more for the trip," he said. "Having an American hub here would be a boon to the whole community. We're ecstatic about it." Beacon Journal photo bv Lew Stamp See research, page B12 Chemical Society members listen to Gov. Richard F. Celeste at University of Akron Losses by MorTronics getting smaller were opened in the first quarter of the current year, the company said.

For the year, MorTronics reported a loss of $4.7 million or 94 cents a share, down 60 percent from $11.7 million, or $2.30 a share, in fiscal 1984. Revenues were $23.4 million, the same as a year ago. The company said its annual shareholders' meeting is set for June 24. The improvement was attributed to a better performance by Mortronics' Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants and lower write-offs in the games distribution business. The latest quarter included a $2 million write-off of assets in the electronic games distribution business.

A year ago, the company wrote off the same assets by $7.2 million. If the write-offs are excluded, MorTronics based in North Canton, reported Wednesday that it naiTowed its losses in the fourth fiscal quarter ended Feb. 28 as it continued to write off its investments in electronic games. The company said it had a loss of $2.8 million, or 56 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, an improvement from losses of $8.8 million, or $1.74 a share, in the same quarter of 1984. Mortronics had a loss of $794,000 in the fourth period, less than half the losses of $1.7 million a year earlier.

Revenues in the quarter were $6.3 million, up 16 percent from $5.4 million in 1984. The company said its operating profits from its 34 Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants were $1.6 million in the fiscal year, compared with $363,000 a year earlier. Two more restaurants NEWS IN BRIEF Notes Noon Averages 1,317.65 109.90 down 2.91 down 0.34 46,240,000 70,490,000 143,870,000 Dow Jones Industrials: NYSE Index: NYSE Volume: Today (noon) Wednesday (noon) Wednesday (closing) Miscellany Litel line links Cleveland with Toledo Litel Telecommunications Corp. has opened the third branch of its fiber optics network, this one connecting Toledo and Cleveland. The initial link from Akron to Cleveland opened in April.

Fiber optics transmits thousands of messages each minute through tiny glass fibers in much higher volumes and at much greater speeds than conventional copper cables. Litel, a Columbus-based company, intends to spend at least $75 million to extend its fiber network from Pittsburgh and Buffalo to Chicago, Louisville and Lexington. In addition, Litel is a partner in the National Telecommunications Network through which it hopes to connect with other regional fiber optics networks. Hanna to take writeoff The Cleveland-based M.A. Hanna Co.

(formerly Hanna Mining), said Wednesday it plans to take a non-recurring loss of about $131 million in the second quarter in reducing the value of some of its coal, iron ore and oil and gas holdings. Some $44 million of the writeoff will cover Hanna 's ownership share of the closing of the Butler Taconite iron ore project in Minnesota; $75 million on the value of its oil and gas contract well-drilling and services; and $13 million on the sale of its Eastern coal interests. Hanna said the moves are designed to improve the company's growth opportunities. Janice Walker, senior sales repre- -sentative for Blue Cross Blue Shield in Canton, has received the 1984 Sales Leader of the Year award for enrolling the largest number of accounts in community life coverage. The First National Bank of Akron is organizing a business and banking Explorer Scout post for students age 15 and older, starting in the fall.

For information, call Ray Albaugh, 384-7490, or Bill Osborne, 384-7496. The Rohrich Corp. of Akron was judged to have the best color separa--: tion among 100 submissions at the Dainippon Screen Users Conference I in Chicago. The Rohrich printing separation was done for a wallpaper book cover. On the move William D.

Snow has been named general manager for WHLO Radio in Akron. He was previously with '-WERE and WGCL in Cleveland. Patric D. Crumley has been named marketing manager in B.F. Goodrich's industrial products division.

He has been with the company 15 years. FIRST UNION SETS PAYOUT: First Union Real Estate Investments Wednesday declared a quarterly dividend of 49 cents a share, payable July 31 to holders of record on July 10. First Union is a Geveland-based real estate investment trust with holdings in office buildings and enclosed shopping malls. BANC ONE STOCK OFFERING: Banc One Corp. of Columbus announced that it is offering 2.5 million shares of common stock at $31,875 a share.

The offering is being made through First Boston Montgomery Securities and the Ohio Co. The sale will generate more than $78.7 million, which will be used for general corporate purposes, including possible acquisitions, the company said. FUNTIME BUYS ALL OF PARK: Funtime which owned 50 percent of the Darien Lake theme park near Buffalo, has bought the other half from a Buffalo businessman. Stockholders approved plans earlier to issue $5.5 million in new stock. The firm said $5 million of the proceeds from the stock sale was used to finance the purchase of the park.

Fun-time also owns Geauga Lake in Aurora. Alliance business mall planned An Alliance landmark will become the home for several businesses. The former Cope Furniture Co. building, on State Street at Parkway Boulevard, will be transformed into an office complex in a $2 million redevelopment to be called Society Square. The anchor tenant will be a branch of the Society Bank of Eastern Ohio, which will relocate its Alliance office in the complex.

Society Square, with space for 10 other businesses, is scheduled to open in.