From NALC: Urgent bargaining update: NALC and the U.S. Postal Service have agreed to extend negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement until midnight on Thursday, November 30, 2006. “As long as there is any reasonable hope for a negotiated settlement,” President William Young remarked, “we will do everything in our power to achieve one.”

From APWU: Next Contract Negotiations Update November 29, 2006

(USPS News Link) The Postal Service and its four largest unions have agreed to extend contract negotiations to 3 p.m. today in hopes of reaching negotiated settlements. The current contracts expired at midnight last night with the National Association of Letter Carriers, American Postal Workers Union, National Rural Letter Carrier’s Association and National Postal Mail Handlers Union. The Postal Service and the four unions formally opened national contract negotiations in August. This year was the first time new contracts were negotiated separately at the same time with all four of the unions.

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From NALC: Urgent bargaining update: NALC has agreed to extend bargaining until 3 p.m. ET today, November 21, 2006. However, President Young is not optimistic a negotiated agreement can be reached. More details will follow.

From NPMHU: BARGAINING EXTENDED PAST MIDNIGHT DEADLINE Negotiations over the terms of the 2006 National Agreement continue.  The deadline for negotiations – initially set at midnight on Monday, November 20, 2006 – has been extended by the NPMHU and the Postal Service, in order to make every possible effort to reach a negotiated settlement.  Negotiations last night continued well past the midnight deadline, and will continue at least through the day on Tuesday, November 21, and perhaps longer.  The parties continue to discuss a host of important and complicated issues.  The negotiations are at a very delicate stage, and as of this writing (before daybreak on Tuesday), it still is impossible to tell whether an overall deal is likely.