REGION

REGION
UAW at Lordstown to voteon right to call a strike
LORDSTOWN -- Members of the United Auto Workers Local 1112 at the Lordstown Assembly Plant will vote between 6 a.m. Aug. 14 and 6 a.m. Aug. 15 on whether to give negotiators the right to call a strike in national contract negotiations. Locals across the country will be voting before the current contract expires Sept. 14.
Duferco shares grants
FARRELL, Pa. -- Duferco Farrell Corp. is sharing in more than $4 million in state rail freight assistance grants. The steel processor has been awarded a $250,000 grant to rehabilitate track at its plant to increase car-handling capacity. The improvement is expected to create 15 jobs. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is awarding 30 grants that are expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.
Jobless-rate statistics
SHARON, Pa. -- Mercer County's unemployment rate dropped from 5.4 percent in May to 5.3 percent in June, but the rate in Lawrence County rose from 6.2 percent to 6.8 percent, says the state Department of Labor & amp; Industry.
The number of people employed in Mercer County rose from 55,000 to 55,600 while the number seeking jobs remained constant at 3,100. In Lawrence, the number of people working climbed from 37,200 to 37,600, but the number of unemployed also rose from 2,500 to 2,700.
From Vindicator staff reports