REGION

REGION

Estate planning

AUSTINTOWN — The 16th annual Estate and Charitable Gift Planning Institution is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Austintown Library, 600 S. Raccoon Road. The presenters are Roy M. Adams and Eileen B. Trost, who will speak on the topic “IRS Pushes Taxpayers — Taxpayers Push Back.”

The event is sponsored by the Salvation Army of Mahoning County. For reservations, contact Dr. David Ritchie at (330) 270-5999.

NATION

USW seeks strike vote

PITTSBURGH — The United Steelworkers union has asked more than 14,000 of its members at facilities run by ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker, to allow it to call a strike if ongoing contract negotiations fail.

The Pittsburgh-based labor union said in a notice distributed at 14 plants nationwide that a “lack of progress” in the talks, which began four months ago, prompted the strike authorization vote scheduled for today.

The union has been negotiating with Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal SA on behalf of the workers and tens of thousands of retirees. The current contract is set to expire Sept. 1. U.S.-based spokesmen for ArcelorMittal did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

The United Steelworkers cited a tentative four-year deal it reached earlier this month with United States Steel Corp. covering some 16,000 workers at domestic flat-rolled and iron ore mining plants, as well as tubular operations in Ohio and Alabama.

More banks in trouble

The number of troubled U.S. banks jumped to the highest level since mid-2003 in the second quarter while industry profits plunged, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Tighter credit, tumbling home prices and rising foreclosures battered the bottom lines of banks and thrifts nationwide. They set aside a record $50.2 billion to cover losses from bad mortgages and other loans.

Nine federally insured banks have failed so far this year, and more are expected as 117 are now on the troubled list. The FDIC is raising premiums on banks and thrifts to replenish the insurance fund.

Vindicator staff and wire reports