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Bombardier, striking machinists bring in federal mediator

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By Sia Nyorkor

KWCH 12 Eyewitness News

9:29 PM CDT, November 2, 2012

(WICHITA, Kan.)

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After more than three weeks on strike, Bombardier and the machinists union will start negotiating again.

A federal mediator will be called in to help in those negotiations.

Bombardier machinists have been on strike since voting against a contract offer around a month ago.

"There are no winners when strikes go on, absolutely not, both parties are losers in it," says Art Veach, a retired federal mediator. He's worked in labor and management for almost three decades. 

He says like other negotiations he's worked on, Bombardier and the Machinist Union will both have to come to the table and bargain. Union workers rejected a new fiver year contract that required them to pay more in health insurance. Veach says that this is not surprising.  

"In many cases, in contracts that I've worked on,  health care would eat up the biggest bulk of any pay increases the employees may have come down with. It's not just an issue today, this is a 30 year old problem that's been going on," says Veach.

Strikers have been on the picket lines for almost 4 weeks. Some say that at t his point, they have no choice but to be hopeful.

"If they pull a mediator and they get the negotiators going again and they pull up that benefit, I'll have to say hallelujah. Hallelujah," says Leo Cooke, a striker.

Even though the two sides have agreed to talk, strikers say they'll stay out on the picket lines until they get what they feel they deserve.