N.Y. Phone Striker Dies in Parking Lot Accident

A picketer injured in a confrontation with a non-striking worker who was trying to drive into a New York Telephone Co. parking lot died Tuesday, a day on which the Communications Workers of America and NYNEX announced that informal talks would resume today.

Edward Horgan, 34, died of head and neck injuries at Westchester County Medical Center on the 10th day of the strike by 189,000 union employees against four “Baby Bell” companies in 20 states and the nation’s capital.

On Monday, Horgan was walking the picket line outside the company office in Valhalla, north of New York City, when a car trying to enter the facility bumped him, Mt. Pleasant Police Chief Paul Oliva said.

Climbs on Hood

Horgan then climbed onto the hood of the car, pounding it with his fists, and as the car kept moving the striker slipped from the vehicle and hit the pavement, Oliva said.

The driver, identified by company spokesman Tony Pappas as Trisha McNamara, 18, a non-union summer employee who was not on strike, had not been charged in the incident, Oliva said.

The Communication Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers struck Bell Atlantic, NYNEX and Pacific Telesis telephone companies Aug. 6 in a dispute focusing mainly on wages and health benefits. About 35,000 employees of Ameritech struck in five Midwestern states Sunday.

Bell Atlantic officials said they were waiting for CWA negotiators to review a revised company proposal on health benefits offered Monday before scheduling further talks this week.

Talks Exclude IBEW

Negotiations between NYNEX and CWA broke down Aug. 5, the day the contract expired. The new talks will not include the IBEW, which represents 20,000 additional strikers.

CWA officials in Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin said they will confer Thursday in Detroit with the union’s bargaining committee on their strike against Ameritech, union spokesman L. Keith Hooley said. He said no negotiating sessions were likely until after the meeting.

No new talks between union and management were scheduled at Pacific Telesis, serving California and Nevada, officials said.

In Boston, about 10,000 striking workers marched with civil rights activist Jesse Jackson and urged customers to delay paying phone bills.

In New Jersey, more than 1,000 striking employees and supporters marched outside New Jersey Bell’s Newark headquarters Tuesday, blocking traffic and chanting slogans. The CWA and the IBEW were joined by small contingents of Eastern Airline pilots and members of other unions.

Because of automation, the strike’s effect on telephone service has been limited, although operator-assisted calls and repair and installation work have been affected.

A Bell Atlantic subsidiary is investigating vandalism of long-distance phone lines in West Virginia. Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. offered a $10,000 reward for information regarding vandalism that has knocked out phone service, including 911 emergency lines, to thousands of West Virginians.

On Monday night vandals cut 11 fiber optic cables between St. Albans and Hurricane, shutting off phone service to more than 8,000 customers, said C&P; spokeswoman Roberta Fowlkes.

New Jersey Bell has recorded more than 170 acts of vandalism or sabotage since July 31, about a week before the strike began, officials said. A cable was reported sliced in Gloucester County Monday, cutting off service to about 400 customers.