Reporters Contracts

UPI Employees OK Givebacks: Unionized employees of United Press International have approved contract givebacks aimed at easing the company's financial troubles, the news service said. UPI Editor Al Rossiter said the company was notified by the Wire Service Guild that the contract changes were approved by a margin of 83% to 17%.

When California officials announced this month that they would begin tracking virulent "superbug" infections in gyms, schools and other community settings, they billed it as a major advance in public health. But the plan would capture just a fraction of drug-resistant infections, leaving the vast majority unreported to the state and unknown to the public, according to experts and consumer advocates.

Is it the anchor? The content? Or Oprah Winfrey? Not even a coven of late-night psychic friends could figure this one out. And though local stations have been willing to lay out basketball player-sized contracts to lure name anchors away from the competition, general managers and news directors are loathe, if not downright unable, to pinpoint just what it is that makes news viewers watch one station over the other. "Anchors are a major factor.

As the Rev. Jesse Jackson led a boisterous union rally in Los Angeles supporting West Coast dockworkers, negotiators in San Francisco made substantial progress in closely watched contract talks on Thursday. The longshore union and shipping lines signed a tentative agreement on health benefits, then dove into the difficult terrain of technology. Employers and union members have strongly different opinions about how to introduce technology needed to improve efficiency at the ports.

Dr. Art Ulene, the medical correspondent for the "Today" show, has been notified that his contract on the NBC early-morning series is not being renewed. Ulene, 54, a pioneer in health reporting on television, has been with the program for 15 years. "I have been advised by ('Today' executive producer) Tom Capra that NBC is not going to renew my contract," Ulene said in an interview Tuesday. "The reason given was that they want a physician who will work full time with the show in New York."

Trans Union Corp. has won a $57,000 contract to provide Orange County with credit-reporting services over the next year, beating out rival TRW, which holds the current contract. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the contract on the recommendation of General Services Agency officials, who said Trans Union submitted the lowest bid.

Polar Air Cargo Inc., a closely held international air freight company based in Long Beach, said it reached agreement with its pilots union on a contract and continued service, averting a strike. The agreement comes after 18 months of negotiations between the company and Air Line Pilots Assn., which says it represents about 160 pilots at Polar Air.

Rod Carew has been offered a contract to play and will make a decision within a few days on whether he'll return to baseball this season or formally retire, a spokesman for the former Angel player said Friday. "Rod has received an offer from a major league team," the spokesman, who asked not to be identified, told the Associated Press.

Negotiators for the RTD and its bus drivers have agreed on an outline for a new labor agreement that would avert a drivers strike and the interruption of service to hundreds of thousands of riders, sources close to the negotiations said Tuesday. Barring a major breakdown in the talks, which apparently resumed Tuesday after the RTD board was briefed in a three-hour private session, the pact could be approved at a special RTD board meeting this morning, sources indicated.

General Electric Co. gained a foothold in the lucrative East European airline market today in announcing an agreement to supply aircraft engines to Soviet Union's Aeroflot, the world's biggest airline. The government-owned airline placed five firm orders and five options for jet engines valued at about $150 million to power Airbus Industrie A310-300 aircraft, GE announced.

Polar Air Cargo Inc., a closely held international air freight company based in Long Beach, said it reached agreement with its pilots union on a contract and continued service, averting a strike. The agreement comes after 18 months of negotiations between the company and Air Line Pilots Assn., which says it represents about 160 pilots at Polar Air.

Trans Union Corp. has won a $57,000 contract to provide Orange County with credit-reporting services over the next year, beating out rival TRW, which holds the current contract. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the contract on the recommendation of General Services Agency officials, who said Trans Union submitted the lowest bid.

Is it the anchor? The content? Or Oprah Winfrey? Not even a coven of late-night psychic friends could figure this one out. And though local stations have been willing to lay out basketball player-sized contracts to lure name anchors away from the competition, general managers and news directors are loathe, if not downright unable, to pinpoint just what it is that makes news viewers watch one station over the other. "Anchors are a major factor.

UPI Employees OK Givebacks: Unionized employees of United Press International have approved contract givebacks aimed at easing the company's financial troubles, the news service said. UPI Editor Al Rossiter said the company was notified by the Wire Service Guild that the contract changes were approved by a margin of 83% to 17%.

The family of a 12-year-old boy is suing Children's Hospital of Orange County and the Red Cross, alleging that the youngster contracted the AIDS virus during a blood transfusion eight years ago. The lawsuit, filed this week in Orange County Superior Court, contends that hospital and blood-industry officials should have done more to protect blood supplies and failed to warn the boy's parents of a potential risk. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

Dr. Art Ulene, the medical correspondent for the "Today" show, has been notified that his contract on the NBC early-morning series is not being renewed. Ulene, 54, a pioneer in health reporting on television, has been with the program for 15 years. "I have been advised by ('Today' executive producer) Tom Capra that NBC is not going to renew my contract," Ulene said in an interview Tuesday. "The reason given was that they want a physician who will work full time with the show in New York."

As the Rev. Jesse Jackson led a boisterous union rally in Los Angeles supporting West Coast dockworkers, negotiators in San Francisco made substantial progress in closely watched contract talks on Thursday. The longshore union and shipping lines signed a tentative agreement on health benefits, then dove into the difficult terrain of technology. Employers and union members have strongly different opinions about how to introduce technology needed to improve efficiency at the ports.

The family of a 12-year-old boy is suing Children's Hospital of Orange County and the Red Cross, alleging that the youngster contracted the AIDS virus during a blood transfusion eight years ago. The lawsuit, filed this week in Orange County Superior Court, contends that hospital and blood-industry officials should have done more to protect blood supplies and failed to warn the boy's parents of a potential risk. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

General Electric Co. gained a foothold in the lucrative East European airline market today in announcing an agreement to supply aircraft engines to Soviet Union's Aeroflot, the world's biggest airline. The government-owned airline placed five firm orders and five options for jet engines valued at about $150 million to power Airbus Industrie A310-300 aircraft, GE announced.

Negotiators for the RTD and its bus drivers have agreed on an outline for a new labor agreement that would avert a drivers strike and the interruption of service to hundreds of thousands of riders, sources close to the negotiations said Tuesday. Barring a major breakdown in the talks, which apparently resumed Tuesday after the RTD board was briefed in a three-hour private session, the pact could be approved at a special RTD board meeting this morning, sources indicated.