Contract Negotiations Update October 5, 2012

So far, the amalgamated contract negotiation committee has met 2 times in Denver. These two day meetings were used to work on finalizing the non-economic opener to the company, and to review the sub CAL and sub UAL contracts side by side to determine the differences between each others article language. The committee members were broken up into 6 sub groups and assigned a number of articles to review, then present to the committee their recommendations. These recommendations will be reviewed again at later meetings.

The next two committee meetings are scheduled for Chicago (October 8-12) and Newark (October 15-19) where we will be getting reports from the benefits and the seniority integration committees. We also have a tentative arrangement to meet with the National Mediation Board in Newark to receive training on Interest Based Bargaining.

At this time no formal face to face meetings with the company have been scheduled, but once the National Mediation Board class is scheduled to explain the rules and process of Interest Based Bargaining, the actual negotiations should begin quickly thereafter.
The company and the union are still looking at finishing contract talks by December 31, 2012. If the parties are at an impasse by that date, we have the option to revert back to normal Section 6 negotiations.