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The IATSE International has announced they will mail ballots on June 15 so the membership may vote to ratify (or not ratify) the Memorandum of Agreement recently negotiated with the AMPTP. Local 695 has scheduled its quarterly meeting for Saturday, June 9, so the new agreement may be reviewed prior to receipt of the ballots. I had the privilege of attending many of the negotiating sessions in March and thought I might provide some useful perspective by an account of the events I witnessed. First, I should explain some of the limitations of this account: This was the first time I witnessed a negotiating session. I have no experience with the conduct of negotiations under Al DiTolla or Tom Short so, although I discussed historical issues with other participants, I bring little historical perspective to the task. With legal affairs of this sort, precedent is often an important component. Although I was present over several days, I was not there every day. Many of the caucus sessions were open to all in the delegation but there were also a few private caucus sessions attended only by Business Representatives and I was not privy to any of those. Moreover, there were also some private negotiations between Mathew Loeb (for the IATSE) and Carole Lombardini (for the AMPTP) and, obviously, I did not attend those. This is my own account; it has not been vetted or cleared by the Local. David