Hunger strike

Saturday, June 12th 2004, 11:08 am

By: News On 6

(Oklahoma City-AP) -- Three locked-out union workers from a carbon black plant in Ponca City are participating in a hunger strike in Taiwan to draw attention to the union's concerns.

Continental Carbon locked out 86 members of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Workers Union from its plant in May 2001.

Three workers and two union officials initiated the hunger strike after talks broke down with the plant's parent companies, which are based in Taiwan.

A union spokeswoman says the workers are seeking wage and benefit concessions. She says the hunger strike will last several weeks.

A Continental Carbon spokesman says the hunger strike is the latest effort by the union to place negative attention on the company and not work on an agreement.