BUSINESS BRIEFS
Workers rally for hotel deal
Advertiser Staff and News Services
An estimated 1,500 hotel workers and supporters of UNITE HERE Local 5 staged a rally around the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa yesterday afternoon to show their commitment to achieving a good labor contract.
The union said it's frustrated with the pace of negotiations and is disappointed with some of Hilton's proposals, considering the hotel industry is booming. Hilton said it wants to work with the union to reach a fair agreement and will continue to bargain in good faith.
"We are deeply committed to continuing to provide competitive wages, quality and affordable healthcare and good pensions," Gary Seibert, Hilton area vice president and Hilton Hawaiian Village managing director, said in a statement.
Labor contracts covering more than 5,500 employees at eight Waikiki hotels — including the Hilton — expired June 30, although talks are ongoing.
JAPAN LIFTS BAN ON U.S. BEEF
TOKYO — Japan's Agriculture Ministry has formally approved a resumption of U.S. beef imports, a ministry official said today.
The lifting of the ban, imposed over mad cow fears in January after Japanese inspectors found banned parts in a veal shipment, removes a key source of friction between Tokyo and Washington.
AMERICAN PILOTS BACK CEO'S RAISE
FORT WORTH, Texas — After several years of criticizing most pay raises or bonuses for executives, leaders of American Airlines' pilots union are welcoming a hefty salary increase for the company's chief executive.
After all, if Gerard Arpey warrants a 23 percent raise, labor leaders reason, employees deserve a bump in pay as well.
"I feel confident in stating that we have moved from a period of shared sacrifice to one of shared gain," Mickey Mellerski, chairman of the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Allied Pilots Association, said in a memo to members.
LIVING WAGE OK'D IN CHICAGO
CHICAGO — Brushing aside warnings, the City Council approved an ordinance yesterday that makes Chicago the biggest city in the nation to require big-box retailers to pay a "living wage."
The measure requires mega-retailers with more than $1 billion in annual sales and stores of at least 90,000 square feet to pay workers at least $10 an hour in wages plus $3 in fringe benefits by mid-2010. The current minimum wage in Illinois is $6.50 an hour and the federal minimum is $5.15.
