The Boeing Co. and its largest union, the Interational Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, have reached a tentative contract settlement that could spell the end of a nearly 8-week-old strike by next week.

That agreement, reached after five days of talks in Washington, D.C. with federal mediators, will be voted on by union members in three to five days, the union said.

The union claimed the deal solves the union's key issue of job security while giving union members better wages and improved benefits.

The new contract would be for four years

The union had told it was upset at the amount of work that outside contractors were doing for the company. The new pact, the union said, would limit the amount of work outside vendors can perform in the workplace.

Full details of the 4-year accord will be withheld until they can be compiled and distributed to IAM members in all Boeing locations, the union said.

The tentative agreement has the unanimous endorsement of the IAM negotiating committee, said the union.

Some 27,000 machinists have been out on strike since Sept. 6. Eighty percent of union members had voted to reject Boeing previous best offer.

Bucking a trend statewide in August, hotel occupancy rates in Pierce County rose 2.1 percent from August, 2007. In August, 80.8 percent of rooms were occupied.

Statewide, the occupancy rate fell 0.3 percent, according to a monthly report prepared by Bellevue hospitality consultant Wolfgang Rood. Across the state, 86 percent of available rooms were occupied.

The Tacoma-area increase rated as the state’s highest, with downtown Seattle, SeaTac and Spokane showing more modest gains. Five other regions in Washington saw declines in the number of rooms occupied.

The average daily room rate in Pierce County, $90.86, was up 6 percent from the year before. This was the state’s second-largest increase. Statewide, the average rate was up 1.4 percent to $140.51. Bellevue and Spokane both saw decreases, while other regions saw increases ranging from 1.6 percent in downtown Seattle to 6.2 percent in Bellingham.

Downtown Seattle marked the state’s highest daily rate in August, at $179.72. The lowest, in Everett, came in at $74.07, according to Rood.

A story in today's edition of Pensions & Investments details the departures of 10 senior executives at Tacoma's Russell Investments.

Those departures were motivated in part by a compensation scheme tied to the value of phantom equity shares in the company. In order to take advantage of the May 2008 prices on those shares, executives would have to leave by the end of this year.

If they wait, their incentive plan will be tied to later phantom share prices which likely have declined with the drop in the stock market and the credit crunch this fall.

The investment publication says it's unsure whether the exodus bodes well for Russell.

"It's not clear whether the departures will leave the firm in the lurch or make room for a stronger, more energetic, younger regime. Sources said the mass moves signal a new era for the storied firm, which was founded in 1936," said Pension & Investments.

Here's the link to the story.

The sour economy took another victim this week.

Kent's Bret Chevrolet has laid off its 63 employees and closed its doors for good.

A spokeswoman for the dealer said business conditions doomed the dealership. The new cars in stock have been returned to General Motors, she said.

The dealership showroom is filled with cardboard boxes,and chains block access to the service department.

Some 700 new car dealers nationwide have closed this year, and some analysts think the number could reach 1,000 before Jan. 1 rolls around.

Hit by rising gas prices and lots filled with big SUVs and pickups and a credit crunch that's made it difficult for buyers with less-than-perfect credit to buy a new car, dealers are collapsing nationwide.

Nationwide, car sales dropped 23 percent in September, and the slide continued unabated this month. Even Toyota saw a 29 percent decline in September.

GMAC, among the largest auto lenders in the company, said recently it would not finance car loans to buyers with credit scores of less than 700.

According to credit rating agencies, that's 42 percent of potential auto buyers.

Horizon Lines, whose containerships connect the Port of Tacoma with Alaska, told Wall Street analysts recently that the Alaska trade remains the strongest among its routes.

"Alaska was definetly the strongest of our free trade lanes during the third quarter," said John Keenan, president of Horizon Lines.

"The economy in Alaska continues to be buoyed by high oil prices and the recent boost in oil production taxes," he told analysts in an earnings call.

"This has resulted in a record budget surplus (for Alaska government) on the order of $2.6 billion this year."

Horizon provides containership service on domestic routes to Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico from the U.S. mainland.

From Tacoma, Horizon ships depart twice weekly to Anchorage.

Keenan said southbound traffic from the 49th state also remains strong for the time of year.

A $3,200 special dividend paid to each Alaska resident this year from oil revenues plus another anticipated dividend from the Exxon Valdez oil spill settlement is expected to keep the demand for consumer goods in Alaska brisk.

Tacoma is the axis for shipping to Alaska with two major shipping lines, Horizon and TOTE, departing from the port to Alaska.

Horizon reported revenues up 3.1 percent in the third quarter, but warned that volumes will be down in the Hawaii trade whose tourist business has been adversely affected by the economy. Puerto Rico likewise has economic difficulties which have softened demand there.