DETROIT (Reuters) – Workers at a major Ford Motor Co auto plant in Chicago overwhelmingly rejected the proposed United Auto Workers-Ford four-year contact, a local union hall official said on Thursday.

Of the 2,317 Chicago Assembly Plant workers casting ballots, 77 percent voted to reject the proposed deal, said Scott Houldieson, secretary-treasurer of UAW Local 551.

Ford and the UAW reached a tentative deal on October 4 that calls for profit-sharing and signing bonuses rather than wage increases for veteran workers. UAW local unions representing about 41,000 workers will vote on the contract through October 18.

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ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek protesters tried to disrupt collection of an unpopular new property tax on Thursday and transport workers went on strike in a growing wave of protests against harsh new austerity measures.

With the socialist government of Prime Minister George Papandreou trying to push new cuts through parliament to meet demands from international lenders, opposition has strengthened ahead of a planned general strike on October 19 which is expected to shut down much of the country.

On Thursday, protesters occupied the printing offices of Greek power utility PPC, which is set to collect the property tax, with a few dozen protesters hanging banners reading: "We are not going to stop providing electricity to the poor people even if they put us in jail."

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – One-time hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam, convicted in the biggest Wall Street insider-trading case in decades, hears his punishment in court on Thursday with all signs pointing to a lengthy prison term.

Rajaratnam, 54, whose Galleon Group managed $7 billion at its peak, could face almost 25 years in prison. His lawyers are asking for a shorter term, arguing he is in poor health and does not deserve a two-decade prison term akin to what a violent offender would receive.

A sentence of 15 years for Rajaratnam may suit the crime and send a warning to others on Wall Street, said St. John's University business professor Anthony Sabino. "The court has to balance he is a first offender, that this is stock fraud, not murder," Sabino said.

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PHOENIX (Reuters) – A U.S. Border Patrol agent caught with more than 700 pounds of marijuana inside his truck was convicted in Arizona on Wednesday of drug-trafficking charges, authorities said.

Michael Atondo, 34, was arrested in April while on duty near the U.S.-Mexico border, with 44 marijuana bundles stacked neatly inside his marked border-patrol vehicle.

A federal jury in Phoenix found him guilty of conspiracy to import marijuana, conspiracy to possess marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona said.

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