AVIATION PROFESSIONALT E A M S T E R

Newsletter of the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition

Over 100 United Airlines mechanics and related support personnel ral-lied outside the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 10 inChicago to warn investors and customers of problems at the airline.

Despite record profits of over $2 billion dollars in 2014 and a pay packageof over $11 million dollars for CEO Jeff Smisek, the company won’t negotiatein good faith.

More than 9,000 Teamster workers are seeking a fair collective bargainingagreement - they have gone years operating without a contract. The mainte-nance workers, who are critical to the airline’s operations, are losing patience asthe company drags its feet on reaching a fair collective bargaining agreementfive years after the United-Continental merger announcement.

“United-Continental workers, shareholders and customers have been loyalthrough tough times. They have shouldered the burden of myriad problems—including integration and customer service issues—that have taken a toll onUnited’s earnings and reputation,” said David Bourne, Director of the Team-sters Airline Division. “The company appears willing to risk United’s turn-around by provoking a labor dispute with its aircraft maintenance techniciansand related workers. And the timing couldn’t be worse.”

The correlation between happy workers and happy customers is obvious.United was last among traditional carriers in the JD Power Customer Satisfac-tion Survey released in May 2015.

“As employees and shareholders of this company, we have a long-term in-terest in the success of the airline and it’s time for management to do the rightthing and offer us a well-deserved, industry-leading contract,” said John Lau-rin, a 29-year United Airlines maintenance technician.

The Airline Division Advisory Board of Di-rectors met on May 11 in Las Vegas, Ne-

vada. The meeting was led by Eastern RegionVP George Miranda and Airline Division Di-rector David Bourne.

Airline Division Representatives reportedto the ABOD on the status of ongoing negoti-ations, arbitrations and activities at their vari-ous airlines. Special Guests included Michael"Mick" Yauger, National Director of the Team-sters Military Assistance Program, and Eliza-beth Murray-Belcaster, a consultant to the IBTwho briefed the board on the Teamsters Mili-tary Assistance Program. Also attending wasGeoffrey Hoffa who has a keen interest in avi-ation and the TAMC.

Additionally, the status of the TAMC as anon-profit was discussed and there is over-whelming support for the project. The TAMCalso reported on the ongoing investigationinto maintenance issues at Allegiant Air, theAerospace Maintenance Competition, theMRO Americas Conference and Bob Fisher’sspeaking engagement at Embry-Riddle Uni-versity in Miami.

The ABOD meeting is a forum for the Air-line Division Representatives to report issuesand possible solutions at their respectiveproperties to the Board members so that theycan advise the Director on particular coursesof action. The Board also discusses industrytrends as they relate to our various repre-sented aviation crafts. This process has beenvery successful since instituted by CaptainBourne when he became Airline Division Di-rector in 2008.

Airline Division Boardand Staff Meet at Unity

Volume 6, Issue 2

United Airlines MechanicsPicket United Airlines’ Shareholder’s Meeting

Calls for a Fair Contract Intensify

continued on page 3

Newsletter of the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition 2

The Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coali-tion was a major sponsor of this year’s

Aerospace Maintenance Competition(AMC). The event, which is designed toshowcase and promote the skills and craft ofAviation Maintenance technicians, was heldin Miami, Florida the week of April 15.

The event featured more than 200 com-petitors on 39 teams, consisting of five me-chanics each. Mechanics came from sevencountries to showcase their skills. The teamscompeted for awards in the following cate-gories: Space, Commercial Aviation, Interna-tional Commercial Aviation, GeneralAviation, Schools, Military, OEM/MRO,Charles E. Taylor Professional AMT Awardand the William F. “Bill” O’Brian Award forExcellence in Aircraft Maintenance.

Teams were comprised of members ofthe military (U.S. and other national servicebranches), commercial airlines (both foreignand domestic), manufacturers, aviationschools, labor unions, general aviation, andeven the world’s first commercial space line.The teams included: UPS; Etihad Airways;Flight Options; South Seattle College; South-ern Illinois University; Embraer; SouthwestAirlines; National Aviation Academy; WestLA College; Embry-Riddle AeronauticalUniversity; Eastern Florida State College;Utah State; Alaska Airlines; China EasternAirlines; Vaughn College of Aeronautics andTechnology; FedEx; American Airlines; Boe-ing; Redstone College; China Southern Air-lines; Wastjet; Air China; Virgin Galactic; USCoast Guard Air Station Clearwater; SpartanCollege of Aeronautics and Technology; Avi-ation Institute of Maintenance; BrowardCollege Aviation Institute; New Zealand Air-force; Aviation High School NY; Salt Lake

City Community College; A.L.A.E.A (Aus-tralian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Associa-tion); Baker Aviation; Indian HillsCommunity College; US Army 128th Avia-tion BDE; and HEACO.

The competition included many disci-plines of aviation maintenance including:

• Aircraft Power Distribution Troubleshooting

• Avionics Troubleshooting

• Cable Rigging

• Charles E. Taylor Exam

• Cockpit and Wing Sealant

• Composite Skill

• External Power Receptacle Simulator

• Fiber Optic

• Fuel Quantity

• GIV Wheel and Brake Removal & Installation

• Human Factors Exam

• NDT

• Pitot Static

• Regulatory & Maintenance TechnicalPublication Research

• Safety Wiring

• Turbine Engine

• Wiring & Cannon Plug

• Weight and Balance

• Event Information Manual

• Pneumatic/Hydraulic Lines and Fittings

• Space Vehicle – Vacuum Loading Operation

• Airworthiness Documentation Review

• JT8-15 Pressure Ratio Bleed Control (PRBC)

UPS Local 2727 AMTs Brian McCarthy,Nick Sosa, Bryan Metzmeier and TrentDeRudder competed in the event. “The

competition allows our members to displaythe skills they use every day. We're proud ofour AMTs and appreciate the opportunity toprove their professionalism and skills at thecompetition year after year," said Tim Boyle,Principal Officer of Local 2727.

Airline Division Director David Bourneaddressed the crowd at the opening of thecompetition, underlining how importantAMT jobs are to aviation safety. He also pro-moted the TAMC’s effort to support and ad-vance our craft. “I commend each and everyone of you for your dedication and profes-sionalism. It’s through your efforts and un-wavering commitment to aviation safety thatthe world is enjoying the safest air travel inhistory,” Bourne said.

“This event showcases the skills of ourveteran mechanics to promote the craft andhelp attract new mechanics to the field,” saidTAMC friend John Goglia, an AMT and aformer two-term NTSB board member andExecutive Director of the competition. TheTAMC has long worked with Goglia to ad-vance the cause of aviation safety worldwide.

TAMC Chair Chris Moore and AirlineDivision Representative Bob Fisher spoke onbehalf of the TAMC to promote the aircraftmaintenance profession. “We are proud andhonored to have been a sponsor of the com-petition and we look forward to building ourrelationship with AMC in the future,” saidMoore. “It was great to see the next genera-tion of aircraft mechanics compete with suchskill and dedication,” added Fisher.

Special thanks go to TAMC membersDave Saucedo from Local 986 and GaryKagel from Local 769 for volunteering as ob-servers to document the event and help usprepare for next year’s competition.

TAMC Report on the 2015 Aerospace Maintenance CompetitionTeamsters Sponsor, Compete in Prestigious Event

On Saturday June 6, Airline DivisionDirector Captain David Bourne

finished a monumental trek. Beginningon the morning of Memorial Day out ofrespect for our fallen and woundedtroops, he set off on a course through themountains of Scotland, walking in rain,snow and sleet to raise funds for theiPods for Wounded Veterans program.

Director Bourne issued the follow-ing statement after finishing his hike inScotland:

“We started on Memorial weekend tocross Scotland from ocean to ocean tohonor our U.S. servicemen and we madeit – all 230 miles on foot over mountains,forest, rocks, and heavy forest. There werea lot of blisters, aches and some sprainsalong the way, but everywhere we stoppedalong the way, when people heard whatwe were doing, someone came forwardwith extra bandages, or an ankle or kneebrace so we could continue walking.

“I want to thank my wife for her under-standing and agreeing that this was aworthy cause and allowing me to give upour vacation for this fundraiser. I alsowant to thank Local 769 Business AgentDavid Renshaw, for his unselfish work

with iPods for Wounded Veterans and forintroducing us to this great organization.Dave Renshaw is one of the finest youngmen that I have ever worked with, and ifhe is any example of what to expect fromour Locals, then we are in good hands. Ialso want to thank General PresidentHoffa and General Secretary-TreasurerKen Hall for their firm and unwaveringcommitment on working with our ser-vicemen and women.

“Finally, I want to thank each and everyone of you who sent messages of encour-agement along the way. You will neverknow how encouraging it was coming offthe trail every night, cold, wet and soreand find your messages and “likes” to myaccount. You kept me going day after day.What we did was nothing compared towhat our wounded troops have endured. Iam so honored to have so many Team-sters and others step up to support mywalk and support this program to helpour wounded veterans. They deserve somuch more than we can ever give them. Iurge each of you to please visithttp://ipodsforwoundedveterans.org/ anddonate anything you can. Thank youfrom the bottom of my heart.”

Newsletter of the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition 3

Airline Division Director Captain David Bourne Hikes

230 Miles for Wounded Veterans

Since the release of the TAMC report on Al-legiant Air maintenance, the coalition’s ef-forts to support Teamster pilots at the airlinehave grown. As reported in the last issue ofthe newsletter, the TAMC investigation –conducted on behalf of concerned pilots –shined a light on maintenance-related issuesthat have resulted in an unusually highnumber of air returns and other incidents.Everything from inadequate maintenancetraining to a lack of reliable spare parts wasfound in the investigation, leading to recom-mendations for more FAA oversight, train-ing and investments in IT. After the reportwent public, our findings have received con-siderable national attention, including newscoverage in USA Today and ABC News out-lets. We continue to stand with Teamsters pi-lots in the fight for safety and otherimprovements needed at Allegiant.

Visit http://ibt.io/allegiant-mx to read theTAMC report and go to www.teamsterair.org/tamc for further coverage.

TAMC Continues Support for AllegiantAir Pilots Following

Investigation

UAL Picket continued from page 1

For more information on negotiations,please read the negotiations roundup at theend of the of the newsletter.

Check out the video of the United Airlines me-chanics’ rally here: www.teamster.org/videos/2015/06/united-shareholder-action

Newsletter of the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition 4

The International Brotherhood of Team-sters and the Teamsters Airline Divisioncontinue to apply pressure to re-open

consultations with the governments ofQatar and the United Arab Emirates inorder to address subsidies that violate U.S.Open Skies policy. These violations werebrought to light in a 55-page report reveal-ing $42 billion in government subsidies andunfair benefits provided to Qatar Airways,Etihad Airways and Emirates Airline. Thereport was authored by American Airlines,Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, the Air LinePilots Association, the Allied Pilots Associa-tion, and the Association of ProfessionalFlight Attendants, along with the TeamstersAirline Division.

International Brotherhood of TeamstersGeneral President Jim Hoffa threw his sup-port behind American jobs and workers inthe airline industry. “Unfair labor practicesare once again hurting U.S. workers and

threatening jobs here in Michigan andacross America. This time, the threat is com-ing from overseas, as three airlines from theMiddle East — Qatar Airways, Etihad Air-ways and Emirates — are embracing shadyfinancial practices and anti-worker policiesto undercut U.S. companies,” said Hoffa.

President Hoffa, along with a coalitionof presidents from other labor unions – in-cluding the presidents of the Air Line PilotsAssociation International, the Allied PilotsAssociation, the Association of Flight Atten-dants, the Association of Professional FlightAttendants, Communications Workers ofAmerica, and the Transport Workers Unionof America, AFL-CIO – sent a letter to Con-gress urging the U.S. government to openconsultations with Qatar and the UnitedArab Emirates.

The letter was extremely well received. Ina bipartisan effort, over 250 members ofCongress wrote to U.S. Secretary of State

John Kerry and U.S. Transportation Secre-tary Anthony Foxx to encourage the Cabinetmembers to open consultations with Qatarand the United Arab Emirates. These effortsare heavily supported in the airline industryas well. The leaders of the nation's threelargest airlines (Richard Anderson, Delta AirLines chief executive; W. Douglas Parker,chairman and chief executive of AmericanAirlines Group; and Jeff Smisek, chairman,president and chief executive of United Air-lines) discussed these subsidies and howthey create unfair international competitionand are bad for American airline industryjobs at a National Press Club luncheon onFriday, May 15.

Labor leaders, politicians and the airlineindustry are united on this issue. It’s time torestore fair competition to our skies.

More information on the issue, as well asthe report, may be found on the Partner-ship’s website: www.openandfairskies.com.

On Wednesday April 1, Airline Division Representative BobFisher spoke with a class of management students at Embry-Riddle University in Miami. Assistant Professor Mitch Geraciextended the invitation and facilitated the discussion due to hisconcerns with the perceptions his class had formed aboutunions. Since Geraci previously worked in the industry, he felthis class should hear from labor to get a better understandingof how the practical relationship worked.

Fisher talked briefly about his history in the industry aswell as the purpose of labor unions. He touched upon impor-tant timeline points, notably a series of Supreme Court deci-sions regarding railroads in the 1940s which established thatunions have a duty of fair representation, requiring thatunions challenge and defend the actions of managementwhere and when investigation reveals that mistakes were madein the company’s case. Many in the class were unaware of theseimportant events. Fisher corrected many misconceptionsabout unions and their actions.

Fisher then took questions from the class. During thecourse of the question-and-answer session, one of the studentssaid that he believed that unions served little purpose becauseof regulations governing the operations of the airline industryprotecting workers and their salary levels. Fisher explained that

without unions there would be erosion in the wages and work-ing conditions in the industry. Without unions, basic safetyregulations would have likely never been put in place and cor-porations have been pushing an anti-union dialogue that hasfalsely represented them since the 1890s.

The TAMC was highlighted as one of the ways unions arelooking proactively at industry concerns. It was explained thatthe establishment of this new non-profit, with the idea of re-cruitment and retention of mechanics into the industry, wouldbe a benefit to both labor and management. There were alsoquestions and concerns expressed about the pending shortageof mechanics and how this organization could be a useful toolto fix the problem.

At the end of the class Professor Geraci invited Fisher toreturn for future classes. Fisher committed to returning as hisschedule permits. He gave the experience a glowing review.“This was an excellent forum to discuss how labor and man-agement function in the real world,” he said. “The studentswere engaged and asked excellent questions. I hope the stu-dents enjoyed this as much as I did and I look forward todoing it again. I wish to thank the faculty for making me feelat home during the visit, and especially to Mitch Geraci forextending the invitation.”

Airline Division Partners With Industry & Unions, Reports Unfair Subsidies to Gulf Nation Carriers

Airline Division Representative Fisher Speaks at Embry Riddle

Newsletter of the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition 5

ExpressJetAn agreement was made to resume nego-tiations on the week of June 8 followingdiscussion between ExpressJet’s new exec-utives and union leadership. However, thecompany declined to provide transporta-tion to the rank-and-file Teamsters whoare members of the negotiating commit-tee. This places a large and unjust burdenon the members who are participating inthis process. They must be able to showup on time to negotiations and return totheir other work activities in the samemanner. Without this guarantee, there is astrong likelihood that the contract willnot be fair. The Teamsters have cancelledthose planned dates and are in the processof planning new dates and locations for

the contract negotiations.

FrontierThe union and company have been inSection 6 negotiations since early 2013and NMB mediation since December2014. Indigo Partners, LLC purchasedFrontier from Republic Airlines in early2014 with very little progress being made.The company has repeatedly arrived atsessions with no written proposals and, asof our last meeting, the company was in-structed by the Mediator to bring a com-plete and comprehensive economicproposal to the table on June 29 and 30.

The union has put the company andMediator on notice that the company isbargaining in bad faith and being regres-sive with their proposals. There has been amajor upheaval in management with theCEO and VP of maintenance leavingwithout notice. Frontier Airlines Mainte-nance Controllers Section 6 negotiationsfor a new contract are progressing withnumerous articles agreed to. Notice onbehalf of Frontier Airlines Aircraft Ap-pearance Agents (Cleaners) and Mainte-nance Cleaners Section 6 has been sentwith negotiation dates being exchanged.

NetJetsThe union negotiating committee metin direct negotiations with the companyduring the week of April 4 in regards to

Article 26. Local 284 Principal OfficerPaul Suffuletto and IBT InternationalRepresentatives Captain Paul Alves andChris Moore had a “status” discussionwith NetJets VP for Labor RelationsMike Maratto and Jim Johnson. Theconversation was productive as the par-ties discussed possible paths for makingheadway regarding the challenges ofsuccessfully combining negotiations in-cluding a single contract that will bringMCC into the current MX agreementwith carve-outs for their specific classi-fication. The negotiating committeecontinued to prepare proposalsthroughout the aforementioned weekwith a considerable amount of timededicated to Article 31, seniority.

On June 1, the Teamsters were in-formed of a leadership change at Net-Jets which could affect ongoingnegotiations with mechanics. AdamJohnson will replace Jordan Hansell asthe CEO and Bill Noe will be movinginto the dual roles of President andChief Operating Officer. Local 284Principal Officer Paul Suffuletto and therest of the Teamsters Union congratu-lated the new management team andare hopeful that the new team can re-store positive labor-management rela-tions between the company and theunion-represented employees.

UALOn March 11 and 12, the parties met inRosemont, Ill. On March 11, the unionnegotiating committee presented its com-prehensive proposal to the company. Theproposal included the rank-and-file nego-tiating committee’s wage proposal, scopeprovisions, health and welfare, work rulesand pension.

In addition to presenting scope, healthand welfare, and pension and wages, therank-and-file committee agreed to close outten previously open language items in aneffort to move towards a final agreement.

The parties then met again in FortLauderdale during the week of April 20 asdirected by the NMB. Immediately priorto arriving in FLL, the IBT leadership wasinformed by the Mediator that he had

irected the company to not present a pro-posal that week and that the agenda forthe session would be:

1. To complete the economic analysisof IBT March proposal.

2. To present industry comparisonsside by side for contrasting purposes.

3. A discussion on TeamCare.

The negotiating committee was ex-tremely disappointed with the last-minutedirective the Mediator gave to the com-pany, however the committee compliedwith the orders of the Mediator rather thanabandon the process. The committees uti-lized the week to anticipate and strategizefor the company’s expected next pass.

In meetings with the company, unioneconomist Dan Akins gave a “State of theIndustry” presentation, which includedUnited’s ranking in the industry based onthe current union proposal in relation totheir major competitors. This corrobo-rated and supported the current proposalas reasonable, in line with the industry, andone that achieves the goal of providing anindustry-leading agreement.

At the close of the April discussions,Airline Division Director Capt. DavidBourne expressed to the company and theMediator that it is the company’s turn topass a comprehensive proposal and that itwas the IBT’s expectation that a passwould occur in the next mediated session.

Meanwhile during the week of May 2, adecision was reached in the sub-UA med-ical arbitration case. The majority decisionwas sustained in part and denied in part.The Board ruled that the institution of a90-10 coinsurance violated Article 16 ofthe Collective Bargaining Agreement. TheBoard also ruled that other increases suchas copays and out-of-pocket maximumswere not in violation of Article 16. Accord-ing to the decision, “The remedy is re-manded to the parties for a period of 60days, after which the remedy will be re-turned to the Board for resolution. TheBoard maintains jurisdiction of the remedyportion of this Award.” When a remedy hasbeen agreed upon it will be reported in thedispatch.

What this decision established wasthat with the HMOs there was a three

NEGOTIATIONS ROUNDUP –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

decades old practice of not instituting, ordescribing a possible split in respect tocoinsurance. In writing the opinion thearbitrator found, “Thus, the language inthe Agreement providing employees withan HMO option, when read together withthe Company’s description of its HMOofferings, in the context of the Company’spractice over more than 30 years, per-suades a majority of the Board that theCompany violated Article 16.A.2. of theAgreement when it imposed 90 percentco-insurance as part of its HMO offerings,a change that was not in line with em-ployee expectations.”

The full decision along with the tran-scripts can be found here:

http://teamsterair.org/sites/teamsterair.org/files/uploads/arbtranscriptday1-3.pdf

http://teamsterair.org/sites/teamsterair.org/files/uploads/arbitrationtranscriptday2.pdf

The parties met the week of May 11 inLas Vegas under the direction of the Na-tional Mediation Board. On Tuesday May12 the company approved their version ofa comprehensive economic proposal. Theproposal did not meet the union negotia-tion committee’s expectations.

The company’s bullet points addressedwages, premiums, longevity, shift differen-tials, vacation accrual schedules, sick ac-cruals, holiday schedule, profit sharing,active medical plan designs as well aslonger contract duration than the previ-ous pass. Additionally, the companyopened the idea of creating changes to thecurrent retirement plan.

The union negotiation committee dis-agreed with the direction of United’s com-prehensive proposal. Acting in good faith,the union negotiating committee re-viewed the terms of the proposal in cau-cus after the parties broke. The unioncommittee subsequently developed a se-ries of enquiries for the company.

On Wednesday May 13, the partiesagain held a face-to-face session, in whichthe union presented its enquiries to thecompany. After the session, economistsfrom both sides met to review the eco-nomic data. The work of reviewing anddetermining the valuations of the com-pany’s proposal is ongoing.

Both committees along with represen-tatives from the fund talked about ways to

finalize the health care proposal. Some ofthe negotiations would be subject to ap-proval by the TeamCare Plan Trustees.

On Thursday May 14, the union nego-tiation committee met internally to workon the counter proposal delivered in thenext round of negotiations in June.

On June 4, the Resource Utilization arbi-tration continued in Newark. As previouslyreported in the December 6 Mechanics Dis-patch, the company requested and received acontinuation of the case due to a change intheir attorney. At the meeting the companypresented its evidence and testimony as theIBT had previously rested pending any re-buttal. After the company rested there wasone very brief rebuttal witness from theunion. The arbitrator then declared therecord closed and it was determined thatclosing arguments would be submitted inthe form of briefs. The day's testimony andrebuttal took about five hours. Legal counselfor both sides will now wait for the tran-scripts from this last day of testimony beforebeginning the process of writing the briefs.This part of the process is anticipated toconclude in July. At that time the Arbitrator,leading the tripartite panel, will craft a deci-sion. Once a decision is rendered it will bereleased in the same fashion as both of themedical arbitrations.

Mediated talks with United had notbeen going well. As a result the negotiatingcommittee requested of the Division that allpossible legal pressure be brought to bearon the company to move these talks for-ward. The first planned event took place atthe annual shareholders meeting at WillisTower in downtown Chicago on June 10and is covered in the first part of thisnewsletter. The event included a demon-stration and hand billing prior to the meet-ing, followed by attendance of the meeting,to demand an industry-leading contract.

The parties met the week of June 15 inLas Vegas with the Union working on fi-nalizing its comprehensive proposal. Final-izing the proposal was delayed by theannouncement of the closing of JFK at thebeginning of the session. After the closureannouncement, the committee discussedways to defend against the loss of positionsin JFK. Several ideas were floated, andthroughout the week members of thecommittee, along with the IBT leadership,worked with the company to accomplish

that goal. In addition, the IBT leadership isexploring all possible legal and contractualoptions in determining the path forward.Updates on this situation will be providedin future newsletters.

The Teamsters passed a comprehen-sive counterproposal to the company.After some discussions at the table aboutthe proposal, the company caucused.When the parties reengaged before lunch,the mediator suggested face-to-face, acrossthe table discussions regarding the re-maining open items could help facilitateprogress. Subcommittees were formedquickly to address items that were agreedto in principal but required clarificationor amendment to reflect the understand-ings. Significant progress was made inthese small committee meetings.

These committees met again on June18 and further progress was made, includ-ing more complex economic items on sev-eral articles. TAs on the following weresigned: Article 2, Article 12, Article 13 andArticle 19. These are in addition to articlesaddressed and agreed to or tentativelyagreed to previously during the expeditedprocess at the start of these negotiations.Those previously TA’d articles are Articles20 and 23, with Articles 21 and 22 agreedto in principal but requiring some minoredits or clarification. Significant progresswas also made on Article 5. If not TA’d,they will be addressed during the nextround of talks. There are still some eco-nomic articles that require modificationto reach agreement. These articles will beaddressed in the coming sessions. Sub-committee discussions were also held toaddress outstanding issues regardinghealth and welfare. In addition to the arti-cles, two LOAs dealing with Field Tripsand Line Premiums were TA'd and anagreement in principal was reached on astation recall rights LOA.

The positive change in the direction ofnegotiations was refreshing. It was agreedthat due to the progress made, subcom-mittees would continue to meet to at-tempt to finalize several issues prior to thenext session. The next round of mediatedtalks will be the last week of July. At presstime, the location was yet to be deter-mined. As soon as the information isavailable regarding the city, it will be re-ported in the online weekly disptach.

NEGOTIATIONS ROUNDUP continued –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––------------------------------------------------------