The Final Stretch

Here we are at the table again....and still no discussion of wages and benefits. Labor fine tuned our final language from the past three weeks of work in the subgroups. We were all feeling very hopeful, when we found out that the right people, the actual decision makers, have not been a part of the process. After hours of thoughtful deliberation, we were told that management did not intend to re-write the National Agreement, they just intended to meet with us and figure out ways to improve it!
Of course, we did not roll over, and after a long hard day, we won most of the changes that we agreed on two weeks ago. I was there, and I saw all of the thumbs pointing up.
Tonight, we were given the financial reports, a repetition of the very first day of bargaining last month. It is pretty clear that concessions will be expected. We are girding ourselves for the actual bargaining, starting at 9:00 A.M. Many of us are tired and our patience has worn thin with these long days of repetitive discussion. One sister compared this to a courtroom, with both sides presenting their cases, and asked when we would be getting down to the real nitty gritty. It certainly broke the tension in the room, and labor applauded her for her candor.
We all stand firm in our commitment to accept no benefit reductions, and to come away with wage increases.
Tomorrow night we should know more, so stay tuned!