Labor board settles hotel-union dispute

A dispute between Aston Hotels & Resorts and Unite Here Local 5 has been settled at the National Labor Relations Board.

Earlier this month the union filed eight unfair labor practice charges against the Aston Wai­kiki Beach and Hotel Renew on behalf of workers who said they were mistreated after attempting to organize in February.

As part of the settlement, Local 5 said Aston agreed to post notices in both hotels informing workers that they have a right to organize under a fair proc­ess. Aston said it also worked with the NLRB to revise its employee handbook to clarify the rules and policies questioned by Local 5.

"This isn’t about the handbook. This is about my co-workers and me being harassed to sign against the union," says Cecilia Ara­da­nas, a housekeeper at the Aston Wai­kiki Beach.

Kelvin Bloom of Aston Hotels & Resorts LLC said the union is harassing workers, the majority of whom the company believes benefit from their union-free status.

"We appreciate the assistance of the NLRB in successfully resolving the charges, and we remain very proud of our valued team members’ continued support despite the periodic distractions from Local 5," Bloom said.

Bill boosting distance from turbines OK’d

The City Council Zoning and Planning Committee gave preliminary approval Thursday to a measure that would increase the distance required between utility-scale wind turbines and residences, schools and health care centers.

Resolution 15-30, introduced by Council Chair Ernest Martin, would change the City Land Use Ordinance to require wind machines with a capacity of more than 100 kilowatts to be built a distance three times the height of the machine or 1,000 feet from property lines.

The City Land Use Ordinance currently requires wind machines to be built a distance equal to the height of the machine from all property lines.

The Council will hear the resolution for a final vote Wednesday.

Factory growth stable while hiring down

WASHINGTON » U.S. factories expanded in April at the same pace as in March, but manufacturers are starting to curtail hiring in a possible sign of weakness.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said Friday that its manufacturing index was unchanged at 51.5.

The index had dropped in the prior five months. Still, any reading above 50 signals expansion.

Job market optimism approaches high

WASHINGTON » Optimism about the job market lifted U.S. consumer sentiment in April to its second-highest level since 2007.

The University of Michigan’s sentiment index rose to 95.9 from 93 in March. Only January’s reading of 98.1 has been higher since 2007, the year the Great Recession began. Over the past five months, sentiment has been, on average, at its highest level since 2004.

Richard Curtin, chief economist of the Michigan survey, attributed the April increase to optimism over consistently low inflation and low interest rates and improving prospects for jobs and incomes.

Housing drags down construction spending

WASHINGTON » U.S. construction fell in March as an increase in nonresidential construction was offset by declines in home building and government projects.

Construction spending dropped 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted $966.6 billion in March after a flat reading in February, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Construction activity has fallen or shown no gain in four of the past five months, underscoring the economic toll from a severe winter.

For March, housing construction dropped 1.6 percent as both single-family construction and apartment building contracted. It was the biggest slide since June. Spending on government projects fell 1.5 percent, the third straight decline.

SUVs and trucks are driving U.S. auto sales

DETROIT » In April 2014, the compact Chevrolet Cruze outsold the Equinox midsize SUV by more than a thousand vehicles. A year later the Equinox trounced the Cruze by nearly 8,000 in sales.

Those numbers pretty much sum up the shift in attitude among U.S. auto buyers: As they increasingly fall in love with SUVs, small and midsize cars are having a harder time getting a date.

SUVs and trucks powered U.S. auto sales to a 4.6 percent gain last month, with several automakers reporting their strongest April sales ever. The stylish and practical new SUVs are pulling people away from cars, forcing automakers to discount sedans and even furlough workers to control growing inventories.

ON THE MOVE

Sultan Ventures has announced:

» Melialani "Meli" James will join the SV team and head up New Ventures. She was previously program manager at Blue Startups, a venture accelerator.

» Bryan Butteling will concentrate on marketing, branding and strategic partnerships for SV and associated portfolio companies. He was previously business development manager at Nella Media Group, overseeing new partnerships, sales and distribution.

» Peter Rowan will assist as angel in residence with investor relations at SV. He led more than 20 acquisitions, investments and divestitures. Rowan has taught entrepreneurship and new venture strategy since 2005 and is an adviser and mentor in the entrepreneurial community.

Chun Kerr, a limited liability law partnership, has named Pamela Macer as a partner. She has been with the firm since 2008 and previously represented major pharmaceutical company class-action litigations for five years. Prior to obtaining her law degree, she served 20 years in the banking industry, focusing on lending, which included 15 years managing the loan services and commercial loan operations departments at a mainland bank.