United unions sue

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jul 30, 2004

The union representing United Airlines ramp workers and customer- service agents sued the company's top executives Thursday over a decision to halt contributions to employee pension funds while United is in bankruptcy. The lawsuit by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers seeks the amount United owes the pension plans plus a court order that they carry out the funding obligation. United announced the pension move last week, saying it was necessary to conserve cash and more easily attract the financing needed to emerge from bankruptcy.

Feds takeover pension

The federal government on Thursday assumed control of a Kaiser Aluminum Corp. pension plan covering about 2,900 former employees of the nation's third-largest aluminum producer. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation said most of the people covered by the plan are retired Steelworkers who were employed at now-shuttered Kaiser Aluminum plants. It is the second Kaiser pension plan the agency has taken on, according to an agency news release. Kaiser has operations in 10 states and overseas. Many of the company's operations in Washington state were closed in recent years because of the high cost of electricity and low prices for aluminum. Kaiser filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the federal code in early 2002.

Quickly

Sorrent of San Mateo, mobile phone video-game maker, announced that it has raised $20 million in a round of financing led by BA Venture Partners. Sorrent's current investors New Enterprise Associates, Globespan Capital Partners and Sienna Ventures joined BA Ventures in the round. 4 Robert Half International of Menlo Park, a temporary employment company, announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 6 cents per share to be paid to all shareholders of record as of Aug. 25.

4 Actuate of South San Francisco, an enterprise software company, announced a profit in the second quarter of $1.3 million, or 2 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $1.9 million, or 3 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Revenues for the second quarter of 2004 were $27.8 million, a 7 percent increase compared with revenues for the second quarter of 2003.