The Negotiating Committees of the Union and the employer are scheduled to meet for the first time on October 23, 2009. At that time the Union will be providing its list of demands to the employer, as well as a brief rationale for each demand. The Union expects that the employer’s package of demands will be presented and explained to the Union at the same meeting.

While the primary purpose of the meeting is the exchange of the parties’ demands the meeting will also be used to deal with administrative matters and schedule future meetings between the parties.

To that end the Union has proposed to the employer, that beginning the week of October 26^th, 2009, and continuing thereafter, the parties should meet in sub-committees at least three times per week to deal with the various groupings of demands.

Once the Union has received the employer demands it will provide details about those demands to the membership.

Membership Support Important

As with any struggle the Union engages in with the employer, membership support is important. Members should stay aware of the issues in these negotiations by reading union bulletins and visiting the Union’s website at www.cupw-sttp.org. They should also show their support for their Negotiating Committee and the demands being made by the Union by participating in any local activities that are organized by their local executive committees.