I was told we are asking for "expedited" mediation which is different than the norm( I didn't know there were 2 types). It is suppose to be much quicker and used when both parties are not worlds apart on all the sections of the contract(American i.e.). Also the mediatiors all have done this for years as far as bringing them up to speed weeks at most. Im hearing were not far apart on the unfinished sections , except SCOPE were light years apart. There is a good chance this comes down fairly quickly to scope in Apr/May/Jun and how long will the mediator sit and listen to one side say white and the other side say black before he says enough call the NMB after that I have no idea whats going to be allowed to happen. But, I really believe at minimum a strike vote and countdown will be needed to get this done, so save your dollars for next summer/fall.

30west