Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Thursday, May 6, 1999
Teamsters, Gas Co. agree to contract
A new labor contract at The Gas Co. will raise pay an average of 10.9 percent through the next five years for the 213 employees who are members of the Hawaii Teamsters Local 996.The company and the union issued a joint statement saying the contract was ratified yesterday. It includes an increase of nearly 23 percent in the monthly pension payout through the life of the contract and post-retirement medical benefits for all employees effective April 30, 1999. The Gas Co. is a division of Citizens Utilities Co. of Stamford, Conn., which acquired it from BHP Hawaii in November 1997.
Sales by check rise 3.2% in Hawaii
Retail sales by check in Hawaii were up 3.2 percent last month compared with the sales level of April 1998, according to TeleCheck Services Inc., a leading check-acceptance company. National retail sales by check were 1.9 percent higher in April, according to the company. TeleCheck said checks account for about 37 percent of retail spending.
Mortgage rates again top 7 percent
McLEAN, Va. -- The benchmark U.S. home mortgage rate rose this week to the highest level since early March. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 7.02 percent this week from last week's 6.93 percent, according to a survey of mortgage rates from Freddie Mac. The average rate on a one-year adjustable mortgage rose to 5.68 percent this week from 5.63 percent. The 15-year mortgage rate rose to 6.61 percent from 6.55 percent.
In other news . . .
EAGAN, Minn. -- After going nearly three years without a new contract, the union representing flight attendants at Northwest Airlines Corp. is mailing strike authorization ballots to members. Ballots will be mailed next week to the union's 11,000 members. The flight attendants will vote during a 30-day period. No strike could take place at Northwest unless the National Mediation Board declares an impasse in the negotiations. Flight attendants would then be barred from striking for 30 days.