In Business This Week

TO BELL ATLANTIC, A BUM MESSAGE

WHO WILL BUILD THE INFObahn? Bell Atlantic figures it can pay independent subcontractors to install and maintain fiber-optic cable. That has enraged the Communication Workers of America. In mid-November, union members started venting their anger by wearing T-shirts emblazoned with a cartoon depicting Bell Atlantic employees as Info Highway "roadkill." The company suspended as many as 1,200 workers without pay on Nov. 23 and 24. Vows CWA international vice-president Vincent Maisano: "There will be more fashion statements." Maybe not: The Philadelphia Business Journal, which first published the roadkill cartoon, has demanded that the union pull its shirt.EDITED BY KEITH H. HAMMONDS