Lawsuit warns of dishes’ danger

Spokane County Superior Court Judge Neal Rielly issued a ruling certifying a nationwide class action lawsuit involving people who bought a certain pattern of “Martha Stewart Everyday” dinnerware.

The complaint was brought by Spokane attorney Darrell Scott. It alleges that the glazed ceramic dinnerware is labeled as being microwave safe, yet becomes so hot in a microwave that a consumer could receive second-degree burns. The complaint says the dinnerware, which bears a basket-weave design, was sold in 1,400 Kmart stores nationwide beginning in 2000.

Rielly said, in his order certifying the complaint as a class action, that “clearly, these products have reached many, many consumers throughout the nation.”

The class action seeks a recall of the product and that consumers be reimbursed for the purchase of the dinnerware. The suit also wants consumers to be warned of the potential danger in using the product.

Credit union gets new downtown location

The downtown Spokane office of Spokane Media Federal Credit Union will move in mid-July, taking a corner location in the Great Western Building at 905 W. Riverside Ave. The credit union has used a second-floor office in that building for about 20 years.

“This will give us a better opportunity to reach our members,” said Debie Bauer, the credit union’s CEO.

The credit union has about 1,250 members and a Spokane Valley branch office at 9001 E. Euclid Ave.

April sees incomes rise, spending drop

Washington Personal incomes rose in April at the fastest pace in five months, helped by a big jump in employment, while consumer spending slowed a bit, the government reported Friday.

The Commerce Department said incomes rose by 0.7 percent last month, the best performance this year. Analysts said it reflected the strong gain of 274,000 jobs last month and a rise in the workweek, both of which boosted private wage growth.

Consumer spending rose by a lower-than-expected 0.6 percent in April, but the government revised the March gain to a stronger 0.9 percent, up from the 0.6 percent increase that had been originally reported for March.

Workers say Boeing used defective parts

Wichita, Kan.

Three senior Boeing Co. employees have filed a lawsuit against the aircraft manufacturer claiming the company ignored numerous defective parts used to build airplanes.

The three employees of Boeing’s commercial aircraft division in Wichita brought the lawsuit in March on behalf of the U.S. government, alleging that Boeing was aware of nearly 2,000 defective parts from Ducommun Inc. of California used in 32 of the company’s airplanes.

A federal court filing said the parts ended up on $1.5 billion worth of planes delivered to the U.S. Air Force and Navy and foreign military forces, including ones in Japan, Italy, Turkey and Australia.

The lawsuit contends the parts did not pass minimum Federal Aviation Administration safety requirements and were used on 737s, 747s, 757s and 767s made in Wichita and delivered for sale from March 1998 through November 2004.

Alaska Airlines, union settle on contract

Seattle Alaska Airlines and the union representing its pilots have avoided a potential legal battle after reaching a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract, the company and the Air Line Pilots Association said Friday.

The agreement would supersede an arbitrator’s ruling last month that cut pilots’ pay by an average of 26 percent and required them to pay a higher share of heath insurance premiums, which the airline expected would save the company $80 million to $90 million a year.

The tentative agreement calls for a smaller pay cut: 20 percent across the board, instead of a range that topped out at 34 percent.

The new contract must be approved by the union’s 1,500 pilots. A vote is scheduled for Wednesday.

Pension group notes recent years’ losses

Washington

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. says 70 percent of its losses during the last 30 years occurred from 2000 through 2004.

The PBGC, a federal agency that guarantees pensions, said Friday that claims from failed single-employer pension plans totaled $14.3 billion from 2000 to 2004.

“This represents 70 percent of the $20.6 billion in total claims incurred since Congress set up the insurance program in 1974,” the PBGC said.

Bradley Belt, the agency’s executive director, said the data underscore the challenges facing the defined-benefit retirement system and the pension insurance program.

Northwest Airlines now flying pretzel free

Minneapolis In the latest cost-cutting move by a struggling airline carrier, Northwest Airlines Corp. is nixing pretzels on its domestic flights, months after it stopped serving free meals.

Beginning June 9, coach passengers who want anything other than soda will have to pay for it. They can get a 3-ounce bag of trail mix for $1. Northwest Airlines Corp. spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said Friday the airline has no immediate plans to stop offering soda for free.

Ebenhoch said pulling the free pretzels should save $2 million a year. Northwest, the nation’s fourth-largest airline, lost $458 million in the last quarter alone.

Microsoft cuts ties with right-wing advisor

Seattle Microsoft Corp. said Friday it has severed ties with Ralph Reed, a Republican lobbyist who once headed the Christian Coalition and is now running for lieutenant governor in Georgia.

The move came a month after liberal activists urged Microsoft to quit using Reed as a political consultant, upset that the software company had pulled its support for a Washington state gay rights bill it had backed in the past. The company has since said it will support such legislation in the future.

Reed was executive director of the Christian Coalition from 1989 to 1997. He was credited with being the major force behind the organization’s fund-raising success. Last year, he was the southeast regional chairman of President Bush’s re-election campaign.