Las Vegas workers

reach contract deal

Thousands of hospitality workers on the Las Vegas Strip have reached a tentative deal with the Venetian and Palazzo resorts. It’s a historic first for employees at the sprawling Italian-inspired complex that opened 25 years ago and quickly became a Sin City landmark. The Culinary Workers Union announced Tuesday that they had reached a deal just before 6:30 a.m. for over 4,000 workers. The deal still needs to be approved by the union’s rank and file. Terms of the proposed contract haven’t been released, but recent contracts for 40,000 workers at other Strip casinos included a 32% raise over five years.

Fed chair may

hint at rate cuts

Federal Reserve officials have said they’re increasingly confident that they’ve nearly tamed inflation. Now, it’s the health of the job market that’s starting to draw their concern. With inflation cooling toward its 2% target, the pace of hiring slowing and the unemployment rate edging up, the Fed is poised to cut its benchmark interest rate next month from its 23-year high. How fast it may cut rates after that, though, will be determined mainly by whether employers keep hiring. Chair Jerome Powell will likely provide some hints about how the Fed sees the economy and what its next steps may be in a high-profile speech Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the Fed’s annual conference of central bankers.

Alaska-Hawaiian

merger gets closer

Alaska Air is one step closer to acquiring Hawaiian Airlines after the U.S. Department of Justice chose not to challenge the $1.9 billion deal that the carriers say will create a company better able to serve travelers. Alaska Air announced in December that it would pay $18 in cash for each share of Hawaiian. The brands of both airlines would be preserved after the merger, which is unique in an industry where decades of acquisitions have left only four big carriers dominating the U.S. market. Alaska and Hawaiian say they have few overlapping routes and the intent of a tie-up is to allow the new airline to better compete with American, Delta, Southwest and United Airlines.

UAW may strike

against Stellantis

A high-profile spat between the United Auto Workers and Stellantis over reopening an Illinois factory complex has made its way into the race for U.S. president and could bring a strike against the automaker. In a speech at the Democratic National Convention Monday night, union President Shawn Fain accused Stellantis of reneging on promises to restart a now-closed assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois. The union won the reopening in contract talks last fall. Stellantis said it stands by the commitment and it strongly objects to union allegations that it’s violating terms of the contract.

— Bulletin wire reports