ПОМОГИТЕ ПЕРЕВЕСТИ ТЕКСТ Airline mechanics seek mediation halt; 30-day strike countdown

ПОМОГИТЕ ПЕРЕВЕСТИ ТЕКСТ
Airline mechanics seek mediation halt; 30-day strike countdown could start.

New York United Airlines and the union representing its 15,000 mechanics are both poised to ask federal officials to declare an impasse in negotiations between the two sides, a move that could start the clock ticking towards a strike, although the airline said it is confident there won't be any disruption of service on account of the move.

The airline and the International Association of Machinists concluded four days of talks Friday mediated by the National Mediation Board, which oversees labor relations in the airline industry without a new labor agreement.
United, the main unit of UAL Corp., issued a statement Friday saying it was asking the NMB to release the two sides from mediation. The union had already requested that the NMB declare a 30-day cooling off period which under airline labor law must precede a strike.
Shares of UAL, th e world' s second largest airline holding company, gained L37 to 34.49 in trading Friday.
The NMB issued a statement Friday saying that it would meet with the two sides separately during the week about a possible offer of binding arbitration, the step that must be taken before declaring a 30-day cooling off period. But unless both sides agree to binding arbitration, which rarely happens, the clock then start s ticking towards a possible strike a month later.