Briefcase

Mill lays off 67 as closure nears

Stimson Lumber Co. has issued layoff notices to workers at its sawmill in Arden, Wash., south of Colville.

About 67 people work at the mill, which produces siding, decking and other products out of cedar, fir and pine. The mill could close permanently as soon as Nov. 11, though the shutdown might be delayed if processing the remaining inventory takes longer, said Jeff Webber, Stimson’s vice president of manufacturing.

Webber attributed the closure to the protracted slowdown in the housing market. The Arden mill had gone through earlier downsizings.

Webber said the workers have the option of applying for jobs at other Stimson facilities. The Portland-based company has six other plants in Oregon and Idaho.

Becky Kramer

Tyson, workers reach settlement

WASHINGTON – Tyson Foods Inc. is paying $32 million to settle a long-running dispute over whether it should compensate poultry plant workers for time they spend putting on and taking off protective clothing.

In a consent decree filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ga., Tyson agreed to make payments averaging around $1,000 per worker to about 17,000 current and former employees around the country.

Workers who sued the Springdale, Ark.-based company claimed meatpacking and food-processing employees were deprived of thousands of dollars in lost pay for time they spent donning and doffing safety gear.

Tyson settled a similar dispute last year with the Labor Department by agreeing to change its compensation policy.

Tyson admits to no wrongdoing under the consent decree.

Associated Press

University strikes apple deal

MINNEAPOLIS – A lawsuit challenging the University of Minnesota’s exclusive licensing deal for its hot-selling SweeTango apple is ending with a victory for the school and the cooperative that markets the new variety nationwide, although more producers will be able to grow the fruit, representatives for both sides told the Associated Press on Monday.

The university awarded exclusive SweeTango rights to Pepin Heights Orchard in Lake City, which organized a cooperative of growers across the northern states and southern Canada to market the variety. More than a dozen other growers, mostly in Minnesota, sued last year, saying they were frozen out of a lucrative deal that unfairly denied them access to an apple developed by their own land-grant university.

The settlement, obtained Monday by the AP and which still must be approved by a judge, would maintain the university’s licensing agreement with the cooperative. It also would allow more Minnesota orchards to lease the trees that bear SweeTango apples and for the number of trees an orchard can grow to incrementally increase during the next five years.

Associated Press

Wrigley sells namesake building

CHICAGO – The Wrigley Building, an iconic Chicago skyscraper, has been sold by the company that gives the building its name.

The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. announced Monday the building has been sold to the Chicago-based investment firm of BDT Capital Partners. Groupon co-founders Brad Keywell and Eric Lefkofsky and Zeller Realty Group are minority partners in the deal.

In a statement, Wrigley chief financial officer Reuben Gamoran said the chewing gum maker has been committed to securing new ownership for the building that would ensure its future and protect its legacy.

The buyers are seeking landmark status for the 90-year-old building.

Associated Press