Business Briefs: Union election vital for Boeing

Union election vital for Boeing

Boeing Co. told political leaders in the Puget Sound on Monday that this week's vote by Machinists will determine the fate of some jobs on the new 777X airplane.

Boeing executive Ray Conner said that an accepted contract will ensure that the wing work stays in the Puget Sound, but a vote to reject the deal will ensure the jobs go elsewhere. Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke says there is no other choice but to vote yes. Otherwise, the politicians warned of a decline in the state's aerospace industry.

"We will see the demise of the economic stimulus that Boeing has provided us," Cooke said.


Buffett trades for chemical firm

Warren Buffett's company has agreed to trade roughly $1.4 billion of its stock in Phillips 66 for one of the refiner's chemical businesses.

Houston-based Phillips 66 said Monday that Berkshire Hathaway will give up about 19 million of its 27.2 million Phillips 66 shares to acquire a business that makes additives that help crude oil flow through pipelines. The exact number of shares will be determined by the price of the Houston-based company's stock when the deal closes. That's expected to happen in the first half of 2014.

Buffett says the business Berkshire is acquiring delivers consistently strong financial performance. He says Berkshire's Ohio-based specialty chemical maker, Lubrizol, will oversee the unit's strategic direction.

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