Under Armour to dress team anew

NEW YORK » Athletic gear maker Under Armour has signed an eight-year deal with U.S. Speedskating to provide uniforms despite controversy over the suit it provided the team at the Sochi Olympics.

Under Armour spent years developing a new speedskating suit that debuted during the Olympics but flopped. U.S. speedskaters, including favorite Shani Davis, didn’t medal, and some blamed the suit. The team reverted to an older Under Armour suit, but results did not improve.

Under Armour Inc. said Friday it is ready to try again. The Baltimore-based company will outfit the U.S. speedskating team for the next two Winter Olympics, beginning with South Korea in 2018.

Union cries foul over rejection

WASHINGTON » The United Auto Workers on Friday challenged the previous week’s close vote by workers at a Volks­wa­gen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., that rejected the UAW’s bid to represent them.

In an appeal filed with the National Labor Relations Board, the union asserted that "interference by politicians and outside special interest groups" had swayed the election.

In particular, the appeal took aim at Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican and former Chattanooga mayor, who suggested that a "no" vote would lead to a VW expansion in the state.

The UAW bid was defeated in a 712-626 vote, even though the German company generally is considered labor-friendly.

"It’s an outrage that politically motivated third parties threatened the economic future of this facility and the opportunity for workers to create a successful operating model that would grow jobs in Tennessee," UAW President Bob King said.

The rejection by Volks­wa­gen workers dealt a harsh setback to the union, especially because the firm did not oppose the unionization drive.

U.S. farms decreasing in number

WASHINGTON » The number of U.S. farms is declining even as the value of their crops and livestock has increased over the past five years, a recent government census of American agriculture says.

The survey, taken every five years, shows there were 2.1 million farms in the United States in 2012, down a little more than 4 percent from 2007. That follows a long-term trend of declining numbers of farms.

Also, farmers are getting older — the average age was 58.3 years. But Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack points to a bright spot: a small rise in the number of farmers between 25 and 34 years old.

Vilsack says the boost in the number of younger farmers is partly due to increased interest and government support for locally grown food and a thriving export market. Many younger farmers work at smaller operations, where the boom in the farm economy and a rising consumer interest in where food is grown have helped them.

That boom has been good to all of farm country: According to the survey, the market values of crops, livestock and total agricultural products were all at record highs. Farms in the United States sold almost $395 billion in products in 2012, 33 percent higher than in 2007.

Still, farmers are aging. According to the census, a third of farmers were older than 65 in 2012.

SHIP AHOY!

Today’s ship arrivals and departures:

HONOLULU HARBOR

KALAELOA BARBERS POINT HARBOR