Four states say they’ll fight the federal government in a bid to preserve state measures that guarantee workers the right to secret ballots in union elections, the Associated Press reports.
The attorneys general from Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah pledged in a joint letter to “vigorously defend” amendments to their state constitutions passed by voters in November, the report says
The National Labor Relations Board has threatened to sue the states, saying the constitutional amendments conflict with current federal law.
Business groups have sought the constitutional amendments, saying they fear Congress could pass a new law requiring every employer to recognize a union if a majority of workers simply sign cards, the AP reports.
The attorneys general say the legal threat is misguided and that the NLRB should respect the voters’ decisions in their states.
Hawker Beechcraft’s CEO Bill Boisture has taken over as the company’s chief financial officer until a new CFO is named, the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
On Tuesday, the company’s CFO Sid Anderson resigned. The resignation was effective immediately.
No reason for Anderson’s departure was given in the filing.
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran is trying again. Moran, R-Kan., and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced a bill Wednesday that would require the Department of Defense to consider the impact of foreign subsidies to Airbus when it awards a contract to replace the Air Force’s fleet of aging refueling tankers.
The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., along with senators from Missouri, Washington and South Carolina.
Last year, a World Trade Organization panel found European governments guilty of providing billions in illegal subsidies for development of the Airbus A330 airframe, the plane EADS is using for its tanker platform.
In December, Moran, then a U.S. Representative, and Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., sponsored identical legislation, which passed the House by a wide margin. The Senate was unable to pass the bill before the end of 2010, so the legislation had to be reintroduced in the 112th Congress. Moran is calling upon the Senate to follow the House’s lead to pass the legislation.
EADS and Boeing are competing for the contract.
Mahindra Aerospace — the first private firm in India to develop small aircraft for the country’s general aviation market — is expected to roll-out its first plane by March, according to the Economic Times.
Mahindra officials said the aircraft will cost 20 percent less than a Cessna aircraft.
The company has been working with India’s National Aerospace Laboratories to design the plane, which seats five people. A larger, eight-seat version is in the works, according to the Economic Times.
