| A thaw in the river
ITS consequences may be disastrous, but a deal on the worst territorial dispute in Europe's poorest country was still too tempting. Moldova, sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania, has been split ever since a brief civil war in 1992. Its industrialised part—a strip of land to the east of the Dniester river—maintains an unrecognised independence, propped up by Russia's cheap gas and its contingent of "peacekeepers". Transdniestria, as it is called, is a black hole. It makes weapons, ranging from cheap submachineguns to high-tech missile parts. The customers are unknown. It also has lucratively porous borders: one common scam is to smuggle American chicken-meat in and out of Ukraine's protected home market, at a profit of some €700 ($950) per tonne. Previous attempts to broker a peace deal have got nowhere.
Mediation Work Complementary to Midsize and Smaller Firms
If you've called in an attorney to be a mediator or a neutral for a case recently, there's a good chance the attorney you found works at a midsize or small firm. Though there are many notable attorneys from Pennsylvania's largest firms working as mediators, those in the industry who spoke to The Legal Intelligencer generally noted that the bulk of attorneys doing mediation work were at small or midsize firms. An informal survey conducted by The Legal of the American Arbitration Association's listing of certified neutrals in Pennsylvania seems to confirm that view. If AAA's listing is taken literally, it suggests that the majority of mediators do come from midsize and small firms, with significant exceptions of course. "It is the case that most mediators come from smaller and midsized firms," said Kevin Casey, co-chairman of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young's alternative dispute resolution (ADR) group.
US: Grocery Chains Resume Talks With Union
Contract talks between three supermarket chains and the union representing Southern California workers resumed yesterday after a week. Union negotiators stopped talks on 4 Aprilafter the chains announced a pact to provide mutual aid if there was a strike. The supermarkets said the talks had been scheduled to recess.
The negotiations are being coordinated by a representative of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, amidst a media blackout on details. The contract covering 65,000 workers at 785 stores expired on 5 March, but remains in place unless either side stops negotiating. A strike or lockout could follow 72 hours later.
Each chain is negotiating separate deals with the union. The union is seeking hourly wage increases totaling $1.25 over three years, and wants the chains to scrap a two-tiered system implemented in 2004 that pays new hires less and requires them to wait at least a year for health benefits.
Towers' pitch to Young was on target
SAN DIEGO---- It's not like Chris Young's contract deal would have been halted with a bad outing on Monday, but he had no interest in finding out.Who could blame him? His new four-year pact wasn't announced until Tuesday morning, and both general manager Kevin Towers and Young's agent, Lon Babby, watched Monday night's game from a Petco Park suite. Young, who pitched seven shutout innings, said one thing was for sure about the Padres' 1-0 win over the visiting San Francisco Giants. .
|
