United Mine Workers to vote on pact
The United Mine Workers said Friday it has tentatively agreed to a new five-year contract with the Bituminous Coal Operators Association.
About 16,000 union members across the country are scheduled to vote on the tentative pact next Thursday, UMW spokesman Phil Smith said. The agreement would take effect Jan. 1. It covers only workers at unionized subsidiaries of Pittsburgh-based Consol Energy, which make up the only members of the BCOA.
A representative of the BCOA declined to comment. Consol spokesman Tom Hoffman said the company would not comment until workers vote on the contract proposal.
Smith declined to discuss details of the tentative contract, which won’t be released until after the vote.
New York
Refco Inc.’s Chapter 11 plan approved
A federal judge Friday signed off on Refco Inc.’s Chapter 11 plan, clearing the way for the commodities brokerage to exit bankruptcy by paying creditors a fraction of the $16.8 billion they were owed.
Judge Robert Drain of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan said at a hearing that he would confirm the plan.
“The settlements embodied in the plan are in the best interests of the various debtors … and are also fair and equitable,” Drain said.
Refco, once one of the country’s biggest commodity brokerages, entered bankruptcy protection in October 2005 amid allegations its chief executive hid $430 million in bad debt. The executive, Phillip Bennett, has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges. Refco has since sold its flagship business and is winding down its remaining operations.
Des Moines, Iowa
Gates video shown in Microsoft lawsuit
Lawyers began presenting evidence Friday in a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft Corp., starting with a 1998 videotaped deposition of Bill Gates.
Gates appears cooperative and at times irritated as he is questioned by a U.S Department of Justice attorney on the tape, which was recorded in August 1998.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Roxanne Conlin, who fought to have the videotape shown to jurors, plans to play all 10 hours of the tape.
Jurors will be asked to determine whether Microsoft engaged in anticompetitive behavior that violated Iowa laws from May 18, 1994, through June 30, 2006, in operating system, word processing and spreadsheet software markets.
Earlier Friday, Microsoft attorney David Tulchin completed his opening statement by preparing jurors for the tape they were about to see.
“The lawyer taking the deposition in asking Mr. Gates questions was indeed himself aggressive, and we think you’ll see that that lawyer was intent on getting under Mr. Gates’ skin,” Tulchin said. “And there were times when Mr. Gates shows his annoyance.”