Northwest, Delta pilots on the brink

Pilots at Northwest and Delta airlines have until today to make pay cut deals before they risk losing some of their control over the matter.

A bankruptcy judge is set to rule on Northwest’s request for permission to impose its own pay cuts and work rules on pilots and flight attendants. And Delta’s request to reject its pilot contract will go to arbitrators if a second long-term concessions deal isn’t reached. Both unions are threatening strikes if the airlines impose pay cuts unilaterally. Both airlines have said strikes could kill them.

As talks continued Tuesday in New York, Northwest pilots appeared closest to the edge of a strike. Two pay cuts have already sliced 39 percent from their wages. More than 92 percent of pilots voted to authorize a strike, the union said Tuesday.

•A cup of coffee at McDonald’s is about to get stronger — and more expensive.

The fast-food chain plans to offer premium roast coffee in all 13,700 of its U.S. restaurants next week, hoping to provide an extra boost to breakfast sales as well as caffeine-loving customers.

Some of its outlets already have the new coffee available and the full nationwide rollout is set for Monday, McDonald’s Corp. spokesman Bill Whitman said Tuesday.

The suggested retail price for a 12-ounce cup — about $1.20 before taxes — will make it about 10 cents more expensive than Burger King’s similar-sized premium coffee, 9 cents less than Dunkin’ Donuts’ and 30 cents less than a small cup of coffee at Starbucks, according to the Chicago Tribune.

•Retired Army Gen. John Shalikashvili is retiring from The Boeing Co. board of directors at the end of his term later this year, the aerospace company said Tuesday.

Shalikashvili, 69, cited other business commitments and health reasons, Chairman and CEO Jim McNerney said.

He has served on the board since 2000.

Shalikashvili, who lives in the Tacoma, Wash., suburb of Steilacoom, is the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former commander in chief of U.S. forces in Europe.

•Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. announced Tuesday that it will sell or close another 35 stores, bringing the total to 361 since the regional supermarket operator filed for bankruptcy protection last year.

Winn-Dixie said it plans to close 28 stores in Florida, three in Georgia, two in Alabama and two in Louisiana because they are not meeting the company’s financial goals.

Winn-Dixie currently operates 585 stores in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi and the Bahamas.