ERMUSR MISC MEMO 03-11-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~~ Unions can expect another tough year at the bargaining table. Once again, health care and pensions will dominate the talks, with more employers aiming for deals like those agreed to last year by the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three. They shifted costs for health care from the employer to retiree health trust accounts. West Coast port workers have a contract that runs out in July. With a third of U.S. imports moving through L.A. and Long Beach alone and shipping delays already likely because of new trucking regulations, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union has a strong hand to play. Telecom employees will fight for job security and health care when their union's contracts with Verizon and Qwest expire in August. Airline workers at Continental, American, Delta, Southwest and US Airways want raises, now that the airlines are back in the black. Supermarket employees...20O,0O0 of them...will confront chains in Tucson, Phoenix, Columbus, Ohio, Louisville, Ky., and Washington, D.C. Steelworkers at ArcelorMittal, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, U.S. Steel and WCI Steel have multistate contracts that run out Aug. 31. And the Screen Actors Guild, whose contract with producers expires on June 30, wants more for work that's distributed over new media... the same issue that prompted film and television writers to strike. Resign yourself to even more game shows, reality TV and reruns. TV technical crews will suffer from the actors' contentious fight as well as from networks' plans to cut costs by eliminating pilot shows. Instead, producers will pitch ideas for new series directly to sponsors in one-on-one meetings, saving money but costing thousands of jobs. ~:~ Improving U.S. ties with India will pay off for defense firms. Lockheed Martin's $1-billion sale of military transport planes, the largest U.S. defense sale to India ever, may soon drop to second. India plans to buy 126 fighter jets, a contract worth roughly $10 billion, to replace its aging fleet. Lockheed Martin and Boeing are top contenders. But the clock is ticking on the big prize, a nuclear trade deal, owing largely to opposition by leftist allies of India's ruling coalition. If the pact isn't approved in both New Delhi and Washington by year end, and the Democratic candidate wins the White House, it's as good as dead. Sens. Clinton and Obama both want revisions that India would not accept. Another battle looms over China's investment in U.S. firms. A bid to take over IT security firm 3Com Corp. by Bain Capital and China's Huawei Technologies Co. is raising eyebrows. The deal is under review by a government committee, under strict rules imposed last year following other controversial foreign plays for U.S. firms. No matter how the committee rules this spring, Congress will squawk. Your very t ly, ~~ Feb. 15, 2008 THE INGER AS GTON DITORS P.S. Find out how China's changing political and economic climate will affect your business. To join us for an interactive audio conference on March 26, register at www.krm.com/kiplinger or call 800-775-7654. Copyright 2008. The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Duotation for political or commercial use is not permitted. Duplicating an entire issue for sharing with others, by any means, is illegal. Photocopying of individual items for internal use is permitted for registrants with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923. For details, call 978-750-8400 or visit www.copyright.com.