CCL CONTAINER Contract talks put on hold for vacations

HERMITAGE, Pa. -- Contract talks between CCL Container and its production and maintenance employees will be put on hold for the next couple of weeks.
Company spokesman Samuel Ragusa said today that most of the workers are on vacation and talks won't resume until they are back at work in about two weeks.
The 154 members of IUE-CWA Local 648 voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to reject a tentative agreement worked out by negotiators, sending talks back to the bargaining table.
The old contract expires at midnight Sunday and there were concerns the union might strike, but David Paulsen, union president, said no formal strike deadline has been set and the union was willing to meet as long as needed to reach a new agreement.
Ragusa said the union presented a letter during negotiations Thursday asking that the current contract be extended while talks continue and the company is agreeable to that plan.
The extension is open-ended with no specific cut-off point, Ragusa said.