With the strike clock ticking down to midnight Friday, negotiators from the Boeing Co. and the Machinists Union met Thursday in a last-ditch effort to avoid an impending strike.

That strike, already approved Wednesday by 87 percent of the union's membership, would have already begun except for the last minute appeal Wednesday night by federal mediators to give negotiations one last try.

Neither Boeing nor the union offered much information about the post-deadline talks.

"There's nothing much I can tell you," said Boeing spokesman Tim Healy.

"I don't know any details," said International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District Lodge 751 spokeswoman Connie Kelliher.

The union's chief negotiator, Mark Blondin and Boeing human resources vice president Doug Kight late Wednesday agreed on one more effort to hammer out an acceptable deal.

That decision didn't sit well with union activists preparing strike signs at the union headquarters Wednesday night. They broke out in loud protest when Blondin announced the 48-hour deferral.

The 27,000 union members had turned down Boeing's "best and final" offer Wednesday night by an 80 percent margin.

Union leaders had recommend the deal's rejection saying the company's offer failed to meet the union members' expectations across the board in a year in which Boeing was making healthy profits and a enjoyed a six-year order backlog.

It’s going to be a great day to go to the Fair on Saturday - but if you’re a small business owner, or if you’re thinking about becoming a small business owner, then perhaps you should hold off on Puyallup and instead head for Renton.

That’s where the state Department of Labor & Industries is hosting the 12th annual Small Business Fair – a free event featuring 40 seminars and several exhibitors that may be interest to business owners. Among ither things, the fair offers a chance to speak with representatives, experts and staff from both federal and state agencies.

The show runs from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. at Renton Technical College, 3000 N.E. 4th St.

Seminar topics and directions to the fair are available here at www.bizfair.org.

This is the first one of these I’ve seen in Tacoma – and there it was on Sprague Avenue waiting for the light on Sixth.

It’s a GEM – for Global Electric Motorcars – a Chrysler product made in North Dakota.

Progress may be outpacing us here at the Biz Blog. I’m trying to find a way to compare it to what most everyone else is driving - and one of the best ways to do that is to use mpg. But what’s right here? MPkwh? Any ideas?

A Pierce County educational and employment partnership this morning received statewide attention as Gov. Chris Gregoire presented the 2008 Economic Development and Workforce Best Practices Awards at an annual conference in Lynnwood.

Under the direction of program administrator Eva Avalos, the Pierce County effort – “Integrated English as a Second Language and Apprenticeship Program” – joins United Union of Roofers Local 153, Pierce College and Clover Park Technical College in a partnership aimed at offering English language skills to apprentice roofers.

According to a release from the governor’s office, the collaboration “created an instructional program that integrated technical and language skills, making them more relevant and easier to learn.”

Before the collaboration was established, most non-English-speaking aspiring roofers filed to complete the work required to gain apprenticeship. Since the program was offered, the retention rate has grown to 100 percent, and “this program is a model for similar programs around the state.”

An on-line feedback system that lets Regence BlueShield members assess the competency of their physicians has drawn 28,000 responses in the past two years, Regence says, and is turning into a valuable sounding board for patients.

Regence’s “Member Feedback” feature lets members post feedback on their experiences with physicians, dentists, other health care professionals and facilities. It also lets providers review comments and reply to them.

The feedback feature is the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, Regence claims.

“Our own research and national studies show that patients want to hear from other patients,” said David Clark, Senior Vice President of Health Care Services for Regence. “We created the feedback feature so members can share experiences and compare notes. That kind of information helps our members make better decisions about their health care.”

Initially, the feedback feature allowed members to rate providers on a numeric scale. Since December 2007, members have also been able to leave comments.

According to Clark, 89 percent of those leaving feedback would recommend their provider to someone else.

“When concerns are raised, Clark said, “it is usually about issues such as waiting time, listening skills, billing issues or bedside manner, issues that most physicians are already working to address.”

If you're the type of person with a Mercury Merkur, a Lincoln Blackwood or a Studebaker Avanti sitting in your garage and have a big limit on your Visa, Boeing may have a deal for you.

Boeing's leasing arm reportedly will be taking back 16 Boeing 717 aircraft from Midwest Airlines as the Milwaukee-based carrier restructures to avoid bankruptcy.

Midwest was the second-largest 717 customer for Boeing. It will keep nine of the planes in its fleet.

While the 717 enjoyed an excellent reputation for reliability, fuel economy and customer comfort, Boeing only sold 155 of the planes before it shut down production in 2006.

The problem? The 717, like the cars mentioned above, is an "orphan." Never part of full family of aircraft, the 717 never sold well because airlines didn't have larger sized versions of the 100-seat aircraft to buy when their routes outgrew the 717.

Boeing inherited the 717, then called the MD-95, from McDonnell Douglas when the two companies merged in 1997.

Likely candidates are overseas carriers. Orlando's AirTran Airways is the largest operator of the 717, but it is trimming back its expansion plans and is unlikely to want more planes.

The nation's airlines with few exceptions are reporting this week that their August traffic was down from last year.

Here are some of their results:

Alaska Airlines: Down 1 percent
Horizon Air: Down 14.7 percent
Southwest: Down 5.2 percent
American: Down 2.9 percent
United: Down 5.1 percent
Delta: Down 9.6 percent domestically
Continental: Up .7 percent on a capacity increase of 2 percent.

Analysts say the effect of some 20 rounds of price increases this year is finally filtering into the system as fliers who bought their tickets months ago at lower prices are using them, and new customers are facing higher price tags for future trips.

One sign that price increases have pretty much run into the wall: United Airlines earlier this week rescinded a price increase it posted before the holiday as it found few other airlines following its example.

Eighty-seven percent of you voted Wednesday to strike. Eighty percent said "no" to Boeing's "best and final offer."

But a strike's now on hold until Friday midnight while the Machinists Union and Boeing go back to the bargaining table.

What changes in Boeing's last offer would make you vote "yes" on a new deal?

Here are some items union members mentioned to me at Wednesday night's vote-count rally:

Takeaways: Higher co-pays and larger out-of-pocket limits for medical care seemed to be sticking points for some members. They told me those higher costs were eating up any wage increases they would get under the new contract.

Pension: Boeing upped the pension formula to $80 a month per year of service, but some union loyalists pointed out that management's formula is far higher. What number would make you happy?

Wages: The failure to incorporate the 40-cent-an-hour cost-of-living increase for May, June and July struck some union voters as cheap on Boeing's part. They seemed less concerned about the general wage increase except among the lower wage employees whose wage progression, they said, is too slow.

Job security: I heard this repeatedly: "What good are good wages if you don't have a job?" What kind of job security or outsourcing items concern you?

Signing bonus: Boeing offered $2,500 each for an approval Wednesday. Do you expect a similar or larger bonus for approving a new contract next week?

Other issues?

Some of those who've commented on our previous blogs suggest that if the union demands too much the next new plane program, either a successor to the 737 or the 777, will go to another state where unions hold less power.

Are you concerned that asking too much could eventually doom your Puget Sound area jobs?

Turkey's Saga Airlines announced today it has ordered two Boeing 737-800 aircraft worth $149 million at list prices.

The Istanbul-based carrier also secured purchase rights for two more of the Renton-built planes. The airline already has four Boeing aircraft in its fleet.

Meanwhile in Seattle, Gulf Air of Bahrain has signed a letter of intent for eight more 787 Dreamliners. When an order is signed, Gulf Air will have a total of 24 orders for Dreamliners on its books.

The Gulf Air Dreamliner orders will push the 787 order total over 900. Boeing reports 895 Dreamliners on its books as of Wednesday. The Dreamliner is the best-selling commercial jet in history based on orders prior to the plane's first flight.