Kaiser Workers To Learn If Labor Contract Passed

More than 2,000 Kaiser workers in Spokane will find out this week whether they will be working under a new labor contract or going on strike.

Ballots cast on a new four-year labor contract will be counted Friday.

Union leaders representing the work force at Kaiser’s Mead Works smelter have recommended that the contract be rejected. Union leaders at the Trentwood rolling mill have recommended approval.

The United Steelworkers of America say rejection of the contract could lead to the first-ever steelworkers strike against Kaiser in the Pacific Northwest.

In other events this week:

Today

Toy Fair, the toy industry’s annual product expo, opens in New York.

American Bar Association opens its winter meeting in Miami.

Tuesday

Spokane County commissioners scheduled to hold hearing on zoning amendments for manufactured homes.

The Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce holds a 7 a.m. forum on higher education at SIRTI, N665 Riverpoint Blvd.

Idaho Division of Environmental Quality holds a workshop on reducing industrial solvents at 8 a.m. at the Holiday Inn in Coeur d’Alene. Call 385-3767.

U.S. Department of Commerce reports on retail sales for January.

Wednesday

The Real Estate Market Forum opens at 7:15 a.m. in the Spokane Opera House, with presentations from The Spokesman-Review publisher Stacey Cowles; Tom Trulove, professor of economics and past president of the Northwest Power Planning Council, and 12 other speakers. Cost: $35 advance; $45 at the door. Call the Spokane-Kootenai Real Estate Research Committee at 326-9222.

U.S. Department of Labor reports on consumer prices for January.

Citizens Against Government Waste releases its 1995 “Pig Book” of government programs, which is expected to include several that affect Northwest industries.

Wheat growers meet at the Quality Inn in Pullman with Washington State University officials to prioritize wheat research projects for the coming year. The twoday meeting is open to all Washington wheat farmers. Call 509-659-0610.

China and U.S. negotiators hold talks in Beijing on protection of intellectual property rights.

Thursday

The Spokane Area Trade Assistance Center hosts the Business After Hours event at 5:15 p.m. in the skywalk of the Seafirst Financial Center. Call the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce at 624-1393.

Retired state senator Scott Barr and soil conservationist Robert Kilian speak at a free 1 p.m. seminar on water and property rights at the Whitman County Public Service Building, 310 N. Main St., Colfax. Call 509-397-6290.

Saturday

New Washington agricultural burning regulations go into effect.

MEMO: This is a sidebar that appeared with the story: On the shelf Business Week, Feb. 13: The magazine profiles 10 large companies that it considers exemplary for their consistent growth. Heading the list are Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and Intel.

Expensive living Major cities with the highest average monthly housing costs, based on Department of Commerce study. Averages are for homeowners with a mortgage. San Francisco, $1,343 San Jose, $1,338 Anaheim-Santa Ana, $1,317 Bergen-Passaic, N.J., $1,291 Newark, N.J., $1,258 Middlesex-Somerset, N.J., $1,231 Oakland, $1,203 Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y., $1,176 Washington, D.C., $1,147 Los Angeles-Long Beach, $1,137