Negotiators in New York Phone Strike Report Progress

Progress toward resolving a strike of 40,000 phone workers in New York, the last part of the country where large numbers of local phone company employees remained off the job, was reported Monday.

The only other strike continuing Monday involved about 1,000 employees of US West Direct, the publishing arm of Denver-based US West Inc. Phone workers elsewhere in the country had reached settlements or agreed to continue working while negotiations go on.

The phone workers, represented by the Communications Workers of America, walked out Saturday at midnight when their old contracts expired.

Customers experienced no problems putting calls through Monday because the telephone network is highly automated, but outside experts said that the strike could cause delays on the installation of new equipment.

Separate Labor Contracts

The seven regional Bell companies, or “Baby Bells,” which employ about 310,000 CWA members nationwide, negotiated their own labor contracts this year, for the first time since they emerged from the breakup of American Telephone & Telegraph Co. in 1984.

Refreshed by catnaps after an all-night bargaining session, negotiators for the CWA and Nynex Corp.’s New York Telephone Co. subsidiary resumed talks Monday.

“Right now, they are at a particularly sensitive phase,” said company spokesman Bob Noble. “The issues are narrowing . . . and progress is being made.”

CWA says it represents 40,000 Nynex operators, installers, clerical and maintenance workers, although the company puts the union’s membership at 37,600. Most of the employees are in New York state; about 1,000 of them work in New England.

Elsewhere Monday, about 30,000 CWA members worked under contract extensions at Michigan Bell, Ohio Bell and Indiana Bell, subsidiaries of Chicago-based Ameritech.

Further Strikes Possible

CWA spokeswoman Francine Zucker in Washington described the atmosphere of the talks as “tough.” She said there was still a chance that the union might call more strikes, particularly at Michigan Bell and Ohio Bell.

The companies were more optimistic, however. “I see no reason why we can’t wrap things up quickly,” John Bruce, an assistant vice president of personnel for Ohio Bell, said.