NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Eastern Machinists Vow to Stay Out

Eastern Airlines’ striking ground workers vowed in Miami to stay on the picket line despite a decision by the carrier’s pilots and flight attendants to end their 8 1/2-month sympathy strike. The airline, meanwhile, said there are no jobs for the pilots and flight attendants who have ended their walkout. Eastern’s attorneys asked U.S. District Judge James L. King to determine the status of all employees: those hired during the strike, union members who crossed picket lines and returning strikers. A leader of the machinists said the union was preparing to step up its strike campaign to take advantage of Eastern’s precarious financial situation and what the union claims is a maintenance shortage.