BUSINESS DIGEST || Steward Health, YGDNA extend contract

Steward Health, YGDNA extend contract

YOUNGSTOWN

A contract between the Youngstown General Duty Nurses Association and Steward Health Care has been extended through the end of September.

YGDNA represents nearly 200 nurses at Northside Regional Medical Center.

The contract originally expired at the end of June but was extended to August.

YGDNA has put up two billboards in the Youngstown area and started a petition, available at youngstownnurses.com. The association is asking for signatures to help “battle this large corporate boss from Boston who’s putting profits over Youngstown patients,” according to the website.

Valley auto sales dip

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning Valley year-over-year auto sales were down 1.5 percent in July.

Valley auto dealers sold 4,913 new and used vehicles last month, down 76 from 4,989 sold in July 2017.

Through July, there have been 32,729 auto sales, down 1,909 from 34,638 sold this time last year.

YBI receives grant for MBAC program

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Business Incubator announced Friday it has received a $5,000 grant from Chemical Bank for its Minority Business Assistance Center.

“Chemical Bank is dedicated to giving back to the communities we serve,” said Ky Pegues, CRA market manager for Chemical Bank Mahoning Valley. “By supporting the wonderful efforts of the Minority Business Assistance Center, we are assisting minority and underprivileged businesses’ entrepreneurship and development in the Mahoning Valley.

“We are very grateful to have the support of Chemical Bank for our MBAC Program as we continue to elevate entrepreneurs with the MBAC services,” said YBI CEO Barb Ewing.

YBI was selected to host the Ohio Development Services Agency’s regional MBAC, which serves the needs of small, minority, and socially and economically disadvantaged businesses in Ashtabula, Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana, Jefferson, Belmont and Monroe counties.

Walmart testing robotic pickers

NEW YORK

Walmart is testing automated carts that retrieve bins of groceries from storage as it tries to speed up the process of packaging online orders to send out or bringing to customers at their cars.

The company said Friday it’s working with Alert Innovation on the Alphabot, which it’s testing in Salem, N.H. The mobile carts move up, down and sideways to retrieve items faster than if workers walked the aisles.

Workers will still handpick produce, meat and other fresh products and assemble, pack and bring the order out to shoppers. Walmart says it’ll hire the usual number of workers at the test store.

Online grocery shopping is still a tiny part of the market, but customer convenience is increasingly crucial as chains try to catch up to Amazon.

Staff/wire reports