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A11 B USINESS THE BULLETIN • THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022 p DOW 35,160.79 +249.59 BRIEFING Drug company settles ahead of opioid trial Drugmaker Endo Phar- maceuticals has agreed to pay the city of San Fran- cisco $10 million over its role in selling prescription opioids in the city. City Attorney David Chiu announced the set- tlement Wednesday, five days before a trial is to begin of the city’s claims against the drug industry over the toll of opioids. Chiu said Endo, the maker of the prescription painkiller Percocet, is to pay $5 million this year and another $5 million over the next decade, with the money being used to fight the opioid epidemic. The Malvern, Pennsyl- vania-based company has agreed to nearly $300 million worth of settle- ments of opioid claims with U.S. government en- tities since 2019, accord- ing to an Associated Press tally. One of them, for $25 million, came just this week with Alabama; that was announced along with about $250 million in agreements between the state and other com- panies. An Endo spokesper- son did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Asso- ciated Press. The San Francisco trial is scheduled to open in U.S. District Court on Monday with claims in- volving the drugmakers Allergan and Teva, distri- bution company Anda and pharmacy chain Wal- greens. It’s among the first wave of federal cases chosen for trial. q bendbulletin.com/business NASDAQ 13,453.07 -166.59 q S&P 500 4,459.45 -2.76 q 30-YR T-BOND 2.88% -.11 n CRUDE OIL $102.56 ... q GOLD $1,952.30 -3.40 q SILVER $25.27 -.12 — Bulletin wire reports EURO $1.0842 +.0052 CASH-ONLY TARGETS | POT SHOPS Robberies fuel calls for banking bill BY GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE — A surge in robberies at licensed cannabis shops — including a pistol-whipping, gunshots and killings in Washington state last month — is helping fuel a renewed push for federal banking reforms that would make the cash-depen- dent stores a less appealing target. “It makes absolutely no sense that le- gal businesses are being forced to operate entirely in cash, and it’s dangerous — and sometimes even fatal — for employees be- hind the register,” Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, wrote in a statement . Although 18 states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and 37 al- low its medical use, it remains illegal un- der federal law. Because of that, big banks and credit card companies have long been reluctant to work with the industry, leav- ing the businesses heavily reliant on cash and making them attractive marks for robbers. Twin secu- rity cameras and a video screen film the front door at Mary Mart, a mar- ijuana store in Tacoma, Washington. Ted S. Warren/AP See Pot shops / A12 FARMWORKERS ADS ON NETFLIX? Password freeloaders ARE IN PERIL Brown signs overtime pay bill BY SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN Capital Press 123RF United Airlines loses $1.4B in Q1 United Airlines re- ported Wednesday that it lost $1.38 billion in the first quarter of 2022 but said it expects to return to profitability in the cur- rent three-month period as post-pandemic travel ramps back up. The Chicago-based airline posted revenue of $7.67 billion in the quar- ter that ended March 31. That was down 21% from the first quarter of 2019. The airline is still run- ning fewer flights than before the pandemic. But it said it had reopened all of its lounges, resumed 19 international routes and restarted services to six cities that haven’t been served since the pandemic began. Shares in United Airlines Holdings Inc. jumped almost 8% in af- ter-hours trading follow- ing the earnings report. The number of miles flown by paying passen- gers fell 27% from a year earlier. However United is flying with roughly 73% of its available seats full. While not as high as the 81% of all seats before the pandemic, it is much better than it was in 2021 first quarter, when roughly half of all seats were filled with paying passengers. The airline appeared optimistic that its pan- demic-related losses were behind it. United said it expects to post a profit for the second quarter and for the full year 2022. “The demand envi- ronment is the strongest it’s been in my 30 years in the industry … we’re now seeing clear evi- dence that the second quarter will be an historic inflection point for our business,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said . p As shares plunge, Netflix takes aim at password sharing BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE • AP Technology Writer S AN FRANCISCO — A sharp drop in subscribers sent Netflix shares into freefall Wednesday, forcing the company to consider experimenting with ads and — hold onto your remote — cracking down on millions of freeloaders who use passwords shared by friends or family. Looming changes announced 200,000 subscribers during the late Tuesday are designed to January-March quarter, the Did help Netflix regain mo- first contraction the service you know? mentum lost over the past has seen since it became year. Pandemic-driven available throughout most Netflix, the Los Gatos, California, lockdowns that drove of the world other than company estimates that about binge-watching have China six years ago. The 100 million households worldwide lifted, while deep-pock- drop stemmed in part are watching its service for free by eted rivals such as Apple from Netflix’s decision using the account of a friend or and Walt Disney have to withdraw from Russia another family member, including 30 million in the begun to chip away at its to protest the war against U.S. and Canada. Ukraine, resulting in a loss vast audience with their of 700,000 subscribers. own streaming services. See Netflix / A12 Netflix’s customer base fell by Drone maker flying high in the Gorge Insitu, founded in 1994, produces aircraft for militaries BY SARAH WOLF The Columbian BINGEN, Wash. — In the Columbia River Gorge, in the small town of Bingen, is In- situ — a business crafting un- manned aircraft systems for militaries across the globe. Founded in 1994, it was created by engineers with the thought of making miniature robotic aircraft, said Patrick Host, spokesman. On Aug. 21, 1998, Laima — a drone designed by Insitu — became the first unmanned aircraft to cross the North Atlantic. Today, the company — a Boeing subsidiary — cre- ates remote-piloted aircraft that can provide surveillance, maritime surface searches and target identifications, as well as security for ports, wa- terways and coastal areas. “The Gorge is a great loca- tion for Insitu because Port- land International Airport is an hour away and we also do our flight testing and train- ing in Eastern Oregon,” said Host. “There is also a regional (unmanned aerial vehicle) in- dustry here, and many Insitu suppliers are based in the Co- lumbia Gorge.” Another reason the found- ers chose to put their drone business in the Gorge was that one of the company’s founders liked windsurfing. Insitu regularly secures con- tracts from the U.S. military. In March, the Navy awarded a $21.35 million contract to In- situ to provide aircraft and air- frame components. Insitu, which employs more than 1,000 people worldwide, deployed its first ScanEagle for the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq in 2004. In 2010, it pro- vided the ScanEagle to its first European customer, Poland. And in 2018, Insitu added sat- ellite-communication-based, extended-range capabilities to its portfolio. SALEM — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has signed into law House Bill 4002, which phases out the state’s agricul- tural overtime pay exemption. The new law establishes overtime pay requirements for agricultural workers in Ore- gon after 40 hours per week, with the requirements phased in over five years starting in 2023. “I view this bill as an im- portant step in the right di- rection, to correct a historic wrong,” Brown wrote in a let- ter Friday to legislative lead- ers. “This policy will make a significant difference in the lives of farmworkers and their families.” Under the law, farmworkers will be owed time-and-a-half wages after 55 weekly hours of work next year, after 48 hours of work in 2025-2026 and af- ter 40 hours per week begin- ning in 2027. Advocates welcomed the governor’s signature, saying it enhances farmworkers’ basic rights. Critics, however, said they are “deeply disappointed” in the decision, which they pre- dict will hurt farmers who re- ceive prices set by global mar- kets and can’t afford a steep increase in labor expenses. Jeff Stone, executive direc- tor of the Oregon Association of Nurseries, said he expects the biggest losers will be small farms, dairy farms and highly seasonal operations — includ- ing nurseries and orchards — where workers put in long days during peak season. Mary Anne Cooper, vice president of government af- fairs at Oregon Farm Bureau, said she believes farm em- ployees will also lose out when employers can’t afford to hire more workers or must offer workers fewer hours. “We think this legislation will have devastating conse- quences for our family farms and their employees, will likely result in significantly reduced farm employment in Oregon and is really going to change the landscape of Oregon agri- culture,” said Cooper. In contrast, Pineros y Cam- pesinos Unidos del Noroeste, or PCUN, a Latino union, welcomed the governor’s sig- nature and is gearing up for implementation. “PCUN will be working on educating farm laborers about the phased implementation and about how their employ- ers can access the fully refund- able tax credit,” said Reyna Lopez, executive director of PCUN. See Farmworkers / A12
