TOWBOAT PILOTS CONTINUE STRIKE; PICKETDS SEEN ALONG RIVER

More than half of the 1,200 members of Pilots Agree remained off their jobs Tuesday as the strike by river towboat pilots concluded its 18th day.

"We can't give an exact number of pilots on strike," said Dickey Mathes of Lake Village, Ark., president of the newly formed Pilots Agree group. "We know it's about 650 to 700," said Mathews.

"We lose a few every day, but we gain a few every day. But the overall count remains about the same."

Pilots Agree hopes to gain better wages and working conditions for towboat pilots.

The strike hasn't really created any noticeable slowdown of barge traffic on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers but has kept some towboat companies busy finding qualified pilots to move cargo on the Mississippi.

"The strike may not seem to have had much effect so far," said Mathes, "but it really has."

Mathes said: "We conducted an aerial tour from Cairo, Ill., to New Orleans recently. We observed a number of grain barges parked here and there."

Mathes said a Sunday flight over New Orleans revealed about 300 idle barges, "a lot more than usual for a Sunday."

The Coast Guard has quit counting idle barges.

There aren't enough to keep tabs on," said a Coast Guard public-affairs spokesman with the 8th Coast Guard District at New Orleans.

The primary concern of the Coast Guard is safety. "Outside of a couple of incidents, which have been worked out, we haven't observed any problems," said Monte Ledet of the New Orleans office.

Pilots Agree has established picket lines along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. About 120 pickets have set up a line along the Mississippi in St. Louis, and pickets have been observed along the Ohio River near Metropolis, Ill.

The strike is beginning to take its toll economically. said Mathes. "A lot of granaries from Cairo south are low on grain."

The pilots' strike has resulted in some changes in transporting products by river. Many companies have had to resort to one pilot on a boat and smaller tows.

Before the strike, each tow had at least two pilots working six-hour shifts, which allowed the tow to run 24 hours a day. With one pilot, the tow can operate only 12 hours a day.

Another problem for barge companies is finding pilots who are qualified to operate a towboat during high water. The Mississippi has been at flood stage most of the time since the strike started.

Federal maritime laws regulate pilots and their work hours.

The work hours haven't been changed, said Tom Boys of the Paducah, Ky., Coast Guard office. A pilot is limited to 12 hours of operation per day. Then, they must park the tow for 12 hours.