Strike Slows Output
At IBP Plant In NW

WALLULA, Wash. —(AP)— Officials of the Teamsters union and IBP Inc. representatives will resume negotiations Thursday to end a strike against the state's largest meat-packing plant.

A federal mediator called on both sides Monday to go back to the bargaining table, the union said.

The 1300 union members at the Wallula beef processing plant have been without a contract since May 30. Union officials say they are seeking better pay, benefits and workplace safety.

Hundreds of workers at the beef processing plant near Wallula walked off the job on June 4 in a dispute over the speed of the production line. They voted to strike four days later.

Union officials estimated 250 workers filed for unemployment benefits Saturday. Officials at the state Department of Employment Security said they could not release the number of claims they received from IBP workers because such information is protected by confidentiality laws.

Striking workers generally are not eligible for unemployment benefits, said Jerry Iyall, manager of Employment Security's unemployment insurance policy unit.

Last weekend, nearly 500 Teamsters workers crossed the picket line to return to work, the packer contends.

Teamsters officials put the number at 326 employees on Friday, and said each had resigned from the union before going back to work.

``No (union member) has crossed the line,'' said Maria Martinez, the chief union steward. ``In fact, some have come to join us and they've brought support from other plants.''

Workers crossing the picket line are processing beef carcasses shipped to Wallula after slaughter at another IBP plant. As additional employees return to work, the company will resume cattle slaughter at the Wallula plant, said company spokesman Gary Mickelson.

He didn't know how many workers that would require.

Union members are receiving $55 a week from a strike fund while they are off the job.