P.M. Executive Briefing - Oct. 6
This Afternoon's Headlines:
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Wawa, Union At Odds Over Strike's Effect
The Teamsters union says two picketing union members were injured Monday during the strike of Wawa Food Markets – a strike the union anticipates could last between three and six weeks. The contract dispute regards Sunday overtime pay and pensions. There is confirmation from the Pennsylvania State Police of a picketer having been hit by a car at the convenience store chain's headquarters, but city police have not confirmed the union's report of another injured picketer at a Philadelphia store.Meanwhile, Wawa has said some members of Local 463, who are not Wawa employees, cut tires and brake hoses, used foul language, and harassed patrons at the three Philadelphia stores where it says pickets took place – although the union says there were pickets at roughly 50 stores.
Oil Nations Plan To Meet; Prices Drop
Analysts say oil production could go up and prices could stop escalating due to a planned November meeting between Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, the countries that began the production cutbacks later adopted by OPEC. In September, OPEC decided to retain limits until March, although analyst Michael Rothman of Merrill Lynch says "[t]here's a low probability" that will happen.The commodities-trading concern Fimat USA's Senior Vice President John Kilduff says it looked as though OPEC's sticking together on the cutbacks was less likely after Norway, which like Mexico is not part of OPEC, held out the possibility of not keeping with the oil cartel until March. The oil ministers of Norway and Mexico, which met Monday, both said prices could be overly high. However, Kilduff adds that per-barrel prices will probably have to top $28 before anything changes.
News of the November meeting led to a 31 cent drop Tuesday in the price of West Texas Intermediate crude, after a 78 cent reduction Monday in the price of oil futures. Wall Street Journal (10/06/99) P. A2; Liesman, Steve; Friedland, Jonathan
Trash Hauler Sentenced, Fined
Michael W. Stevens, 46, of Annapolis, Md., formerly an official at A.W. Stevens and Sons Waste Disposal Systems and St. Mary's Disposal Systems, was given five months incarceration, five months' home detention, and a $30,000 fine in a Greenbelt, Md., federal court for filing false claims.A June statement of facts says the two firms hauled the waste from three Navy sites in Maryland to Virginia, where disposal fees are lower, rather than to Maryland or Washington, D.C., as the contract stipulated, after which company heads gave the Navy substitute or inaccurate receipts. Court documents also said the A.W. Stevens firm had violated the Clean Water Act.
Officials from the waste haulers plead guilty in June on state and federal charges. The firms are to pay $3.3 million in federal criminal and civil fines, as well as $80,000 apiece to Prince George's and St. Mary's counties. The Stevens family no longer owns or operates either company. Washington Post (10/06/99) P. M06; Castaneda, Ruben
Overnite Employees in Minneapolis Petition to Decertify Teamsters
The 14th decertification petition by Overnite Transportation employees since 1996 has been filed with the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB says workers at the Overnite Minneapolis Service Center have asked to remove the Teamsters union as bargaining representative. This comes after last week's petitions from workers at the Cincinnati and Tupelo, Miss., Overnite facilities. [A Monday PR Newswire release from the Teamsters said the NLRB had dismissed or blocked the Cincinnati and Tupelo petitions as well as one from Memphis and accused the LTL carrier of engineering those three petitions and nine others that the NLRB also dismissed or blocked.] PR Newswire (10/05/99)Rush Enterprises Completes Acquisition of Southwest Peterbilt
Rush Enterprises says it has taken over the assets of Southwest Peterbilt, Southwest Truck Center, and New Mexico Peterbilt Inc. (Southwest) for a combined cash-and-stock deal worth $23.9 million, with a possible $4 million extra based on performance. Rush, an operator of Peterbilt and John Deere dealerships, will now become the exclusive retailer of Peterbilt trucks and parts at five Arizona and New Mexico sites in addition to the 24 truck dealerships it previously ran. Business Wire (10/05/99)© copyright 1999 INFORMATION, INC. Terms of Service
