NLRB upholds Foxwoods' dealers union certification

Dealers at the Foxwoods Resort Casino called on management to begin contract negotiations after the National Labor Relations Board certified their union. The NLRB, in a 2-0 decision issued June 30, affirmed a March ruling by administrative law Judge Raymond Green certifying the results of the union representation election at Foxwoods. Casino dealers at Foxwoods voted to join the UAW in November 2007. "Workers have spoken, the labor board has ruled, and it's time for Foxwoods to obey the law and bargain a contract," said UAW secretary treasurer Elizabeth Bunn. But the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, which owns the casino, said it plans to appeal all aspects of the case to the US Court of Appeals. (AP)

Plymouth Rock Studios has purchased the Waverly Oaks Golf Club in Plymouth as the site of its $300 million film and television production studio. The studio will feature 14 sound stages, back lots, a hotel, and office buildings. Plymouth Town Manager Mark Sylvia says the project, which must go through a rezoning vote this fall, will generate new tax revenue and jobs. The state's movie industry has boomed after Massachusetts lawmakers approved tax incentives designed to lure filmmakers to the state. The studio moved its "Hollywood East" sign at the Plymouth County courthouse this week after it drew complaints because it obstructed the view of a veterans' memorial. (AP)

Apple Inc., the maker of Macintosh computers, sliced $500 off the price of its most expensive MacBook Air model, the ultrathin notebook introduced by chief executive Steve Jobs in January. The costliest version, which has a 64-gigabyte solid-state hard drive and an Intel Corp. Core 2 Duo chip running at 1.8 gigahertz, now sells for $2,598, spokesman Bill Evans said. The starting price for the Air with a 1.6-GHz chip remains $1,799. Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., rose $1.94 to $170.12 in abbreviated trading on the Nasdaq market. (Bloomberg)

Don't bother hitting the ATM before boarding your flight - your airline may no longer be accepting cash. Starting Aug. 5, Alaska Airlines will become the latest carrier to go cashless for in-flight purchases such as headphones, cocktails, and snacks. Others that have gone cashless include Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, AirTran, Virgin American, and Midwest Airlines. The "cashless cabin" is fast becoming the norm as more goods are sold in-flight and the hassles grow for making exact change, said Mike Boyd, a Colorado aviation consultant. Northwest Airlines still accepts cash only for purchases on domestic flights. Delta and American airlines accept cash and credit cards, representatives said. (AP)

This doesn't sound good: The nonprofit agency in charge of the Internet's addresses recently lost track of its own. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, said it happened when an Internet registration company it oversees got fooled into transferring the domain names to someone else. The attack was quickly noticed, and ICANN's domain names were restored within 20 minutes. ICANN said that new, unspecified security measures should prevent such attacks in the future. (AP)

Mark Ernst, who was ousted as chief executive and chairman of H&R Block Inc. in November, had his total compensation more than doubled to $8.29 million in the fiscal year ended April 30, according to a regulatory filing. Departed chief financial officer William Trubeck had a 44 percent increase in total compensation to $2.98 million, the filing showed. H&R Block, the biggest US tax preparer, ousted Ernst and Trubeck after losing more than $1 billion making home loans to subprime borrowers. (Bloomberg)

General Motors Corp. is considering a new Chevrolet minicar for the United States as it reworks its product lineup to cope with a dramatic shift from trucks to cars linked to high gas prices. GM spokesman Dee Allen said bringing the Chevrolet Beat, which is about the size of a Honda Fit or a Toyota Yaris, to the United States is among the options the company is studying. GM's shares have been trading near their lowest levels in more than a half-century, raising investor worries about the automaker's future and its ability to adjust quickly to demand for more fuel-efficient cars. GM shares rose 14 cents to $10.12. (AP)