IC Bus workers to unionize with UAW
Workers at the IC Bus plant will organize under the United Auto Workers union and begin the process of collective bargaining in coming weeks.
The UAW said its organizers finished collecting enough signatures of support earlier this month to represent workers.
The plant, with about 1,000 employees, manufacturers 50 to 75 classic yellow school buses each day. Workers in the 1 million-square-foot factory at Tulsa International Airport construct chassis and bodies on a mile-long assembly line.
Navistar International Corp., parent company of IC of Oklahoma LLC, allowed the UAW to solicit employees at the plant. After a three-month campaign, the union received enough signatures to certify union representation. Union organizers needed support from a majority of the 650 assembly line workers at the plant.
Employees at the plant are now slated to vote on local union leadership Feb. 28. Those leaders will then gather information from members and conduct other research before they begin collective bargaining with the company.
- KYLE ARNOLD, World Staff Writer
Arvest buying 29 Bank of America locations
Arvest Bank has received regulatory approval to buy 29 Bank of America locations, including four in Oklahoma - two in Muskogee and two in Tahlequah.
Fayetteville, Ark.-based Arvest said it will close the purchases March 22, with most of the branches opening March 25 under the Arvest name. The deal also includes 15 Bank of America branches in Missouri, nine in Arkansas and one in Kansas.
The Muskogee locations are at 230 W. Broadway and 333 N. Third St., and the two in Tahlequah are at 100 S. Muskogee Ave. and 123 W. Shawnee St., Arvest said.
In addition to the properties, Arvest will gain most deposit accounts such as checking, savings, IRAs and CDs. The transaction does not include credit card, mortgage, brokerage or trust accounts.
Arvest officials said in December they expected many Bank of America employees to transition to Arvest and keep their positions.
- LAURIE WINSLOW, World Staff Writer
Magellan buying Plains pipeline systems
Tulsa-based Magellan Midstream Partners LP announced Friday it is buying 800 miles of Rocky Mountain and southwest U.S. refined petroleum pipelines for $190 million.
Plains All American Pipeline LP is selling the two pipeline systems to Magellan, a deal which includes four terminals with nearly 1.7 million barrels in storage capacity. The Rocky Mountain pipeline is a 550-mile common carrier system that moves refined fuels in Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming. The second system includes 250 miles of pipeline moving refined product from El Paso, Texas, to Albuquerque, N.M.
The Plains transaction is expected to close in the second quarter pending regulatory approvals.
- ROD WALTON, World Staff Writer
Friends of Finance brings Van Arsdell to speak
Stephen Van Arsdell is bullish about the nation's future and what can be accomplished. Where others see challenges, he sees opportunity.
Van Arsdell bases much of his optimism on the belief that the U.S. hasn't begun to tap its potential for innovation. And despite economic challenges, including a steep national debt and intolerably high jobless rate, he looks for the economy to become vibrant again as businesses innovate to meet people's needs.
On Thursday, Van Arsdell, senior partner of Deloitte & Touche LLP - the accounting, auditing, capital markets and risk advisory subsidiary of Deloitte LLP - spoke about topics he believes are essential to the country's well-being. His presentation was part of the University of Tulsa's Friends of Finance Executive Speaker series.
Van Arsdell noted that global and national economies go through ebbs and tides, and since 1973 the U.S. has experienced six recessions, including the Great Recession that took hold in 2008.
- LAURIE WINSLOW, World Staff Writer
Crystal City among four properties at auction
Four notable commercial properties scattered throughout metro Tulsa will go up for auction Wednesday.
The properties include the McLain Center at 52nd Street North and Peoria Avenue, the Crystal City shopping center at 42nd Street and Southwest Boulevard, the former car dealership now known as Regency Square at 10151 E. 31st St., and a former church in downtown Broken Arrow at 305 N. Main St.
The four properties, which will be sold in separate auctions by Tulsa-based Williams & Williams, are part of the William "Buck" Myers Family trust, though they don't represent all of it, said Fontana Fitzwilson, executive vice president of sales.
The oldest property on the list is Crystal City, which was constructed as an amusement park and later converted to a shopping center in the 1950s, said Cindy Dees, senior director of marketing for Williams & Williams.
The site was also the original home of the Zingo roller coaster, which was later moved to Bell's Amusement Park.
Crystal City includes tenants such as Family Dollar, Auto Zone, Carl's Coney Island and H&R Block, though it is now largely vacant. Several efforts have been made to revitalize the center over the years.
- ROBERT EVATT, World Staff Writer
Mazzio's Pizza offers text message ordering
When the pizza craving strikes, there's a number of options. You can go to the restaurant, call for delivery or, in many cases, order online.
Tulsa-based Mazzio's Pizza has added a new way to order - via text message.
Mazzio's has quietly launched its text-to-order system this year, though the company will soon promote it in a big way, said Greg Lippert, president and CEO.
"With the popularity of smartphones, we see a day that traditional online ordering will be the old way of ordering," he said. "We think that smartphone popularity has increased so much that people want to order when they're away from their PCs. It's the ultimate in convenience."
When a customer texts the phrase "Mazzios" to 90808, they'll receive back a list of all the orders they've made on their account in the last 60 days. The customer can then select which order they'd like to repeat and can even choose to automatically pay with a credit card used in past transactions.
- ROBERT EVATT, World Staff Writer
