Verizon strike lingers

WASHINGTON-Thousands of technicians and operators for VerizonCommunications entered their second week on strike Sunday, leavingconsumers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states saddled with moredelays in telephone repair and installations. Two unions representing87,200 workers continued negotiations with the company's managementto replace a contract that expired Aug. 6. Sunday, the companyoffered what it called a "revised comprehensive offer" to theCommunications Workers of America and the International Brotherhoodof Electrical Workers. Unions fear that Verizon-the product of asummer merger between Bell Atlantic and GTE-will distribute workwithin its expanded territory to areas where labor is cheaper.

Ilink on the move

ILink Global, the Glen Ellyn provider of shipping and electroniclogistics for e-businesses, has been named as the shipper for HongKong-based iSteelAsia.com. ILink will use its pricing and logisticsexpertise to streamline shipping for global steel traders.

Clientele upgrade

MorganWorks.com, the Chicago online management recruiting company,has been named by Kinko's and Miller Brewing Co. to aid in employmentneeds. MorganWorks over the next year will fill 100 account managerpositions for Kinko's. MorganWorks also will fill 50 managementpositions for Miller. The recruiter combines an online database withpersonal recruiting.

Retailer's rough times

Value America Inc., an Internet retailer that attracted high-profile investors with its "virtual" operating model, filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy as it closed its online store and fired 185people. The company said it will reorganize as a business helpingmanufacturers, distributors and vendors fill online orders and seekpayment over the Internet.

Stiffel sells name Defunct Chicago lampmaker Stiffel Co. accepteda bid of $6.5 million for its name and other intellectual propertyfrom Mount Prospect-based Salton Inc., according to a report intoday's Crain's Chicago Business. Salton made an unsuccessful bidfor the Stiffel name in the spring. The lampmaker has been closed forseveral months. Stiffel's primary lender, GE Capital Corp., refusedto lend more money, leaving it without cash to operate, Crain'sreported.

More layoffs expected

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-A sweeping restructuring of First Union Corp.could result in hundreds more layoffs than the banking giantpreviously estimated. As many as 5,291 employees could lose theirjobs, according to documents filed Friday with the Securities andExchange Commission. When the restructuring was announced in June,the bank said 3,500 people would be affected. The bank expects tospend $135 million for severance pay, outplacement services andrelated benefits for the employees. The restructuring has led FirstUnion to shut down the Money Store, a subsidiary.

Machine tool mania

WASHINGTON-U.S. orders for machine tools rose 8 percent in June,an industry survey showed. June orders from U.S. companies fordomestic and imported machine tools totaled $494 million in June froma revised $457 million in May, according to the American Machine ToolDistributors' Association. Machine tool orders are a gauge ofmanufacturers' demand for equipment to improve productivity.