date:Dec 20, 2012
e was averted in late September when George Cohen,director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service,stepped in. Retailers and others feared a disruption in cargoflow in the critical weeks leading up to Christmas would cripplethe economy. Both sides agreed to a 90-day extension to take thembeyond the holidays and the election.
At a fruitless meeting Dec. 18, the USMX rejected a proposal bythe ILA to extend the talks until Feb. 1. It accused the union ofbeing intransigent on the issue of