Union Will Donate $2,500 to Settle Picket Violation

United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 551 has agreed to pay $2,500 to charity for violating a court order prohibiting picketing at the Anaheim residence of Alex Morales, president of Alex Snack Foods Inc.

The union local, which has been striking Anaheim-based Alex Snack Foods for four weeks, agreed to the settlement to avoid the “astronomical” legal fees needed to fight the court order, according to Greg Conger, a union spokesman.

The strike began May 7 after negotiations stalled and Alex Snack Foods slashed the salaries of most of its employees, some by 41%, and eliminated all health benefits.

In a related development, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said Monday that it has closed its inquiry into possible food tampering at the plant.

The inquiry began last month when an irritant similar to tear gas caused the evacuation of 14 workers at Alex Snack Foods. Because the gas contaminated food products, the FBI was asked to investigate the incident as a food-tampering case.

On Monday, however, Fred Reagan, an FBI spokesman in Los Angeles, said the agency found no evidence of tampering and concluded that the fumes “could well have been a fumigant which was perhaps applied during the . . . course of business.”

But Alex Foods officials still contend that the release of noxious fumes inside the plant could have been strike-related. The company last month sued Local 551, alleging that the union was responsible for the incident.

The union has not yet replied to the lawsuit.