Delta pilots rally against pay cuts
More than 300 Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots marched near the company’s headquarters Wednesday and placed a giant inflatable rat on a street corner to symbolize what they see as corporate greed in management’s effort to void their contract and impose pay cuts.
The demonstration came even as there appeared to be progress in talks that were continuing between union and company negotiators at a hotel in New York.
An arbitration panel has until Saturday to decide on the company’s contract rejection request, but that deadline could be extended if the sides were close to an agreement. Last week, the pilots authorized their union leader to call a strike at anytime after Monday and said they will walk off the job if their contract is voided. Delta says a strike would kill the airline, which is operating under bankruptcy protection.
Chicago
China could buy 120 Boeing jets
Boeing Co. expects its sales in China to match last year’s level of 120 aircraft following a major order placed this week, a company executive said Wednesday.
Boeing said Tuesday it signed an agreement with a state company to supply 80 narrow-body 737 jetliners to Chinese carriers. The planes are worth $4.6 billion at list prices, but major buyers usually negotiate discounts.
That deal brings Boeing’s total sales to China so far this year to 100 aircraft, said Rob Laird, vice president for China sales at the company’s Boeing Commercial Airplanes division.
Fort Meyers, Florida
Lawsuit alleges Fosamax defects
Merck & Co, which is already facing a raft of cases over its pain reliever Vioxx, may need to hire additional attorneys to fight a recently filed lawsuit alleging the company was negligent in promoting its osteoporosis drug Fosamax.
According to a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Fort Myers, Fla., Fosamax is a defective product because it can cause osteonecrosis of the jaw, or a rotting of the jaw bone. The suit, which seeks class action status, alleges that Merck concealed and continues to hide Fosamax’s potentially dangerous side effects from patients and doctors.
Fosamax is Merck’s second best-selling drug with last year’s revenue essentially flat at $3.2 billion.
Seattle
Chinese firm buys Windows licenses
Chinese computer manufacturer Founder Technology Group Corp. signed an agreement Wednesday with Microsoft Corp. as part of an overall effort to crack down on widespread software piracy in China.
Founder Technology President Qi Dongfeng said the company would buy $250 million worth of licenses for a Chinese version of Windows over the next three years, to be used on computers sold in China. The two companies also agreed to work together to promote the use of genuine versions of Windows.
The agreement follows high-level talks in which China pledged to crack down on piracy and require computers to use legal software.