The hotline message stated that talks were not productive, even the Mediator was stunned. The company has offered for us to pay for health care, approx 400 bucks a month for singles, 800 bucks for a family, MORE subcontracting for China, Europe, and Mexico meaning more mechanics to be layed off due to more subcontracting, a 1% pay for all years that the contract will cover, and a small retro payment for the 4 years we have been without a contract. The Union has suggested that we take a "strike vote" (see RLA of 1929 for details) and start a public media campaign stating our struggle. Our pay raise would not cover our health care payment. How much does each driver pay a week for health care? The media blitz should start with ATL headquarters and Wall Street Journal (just like the pilots did) then branch out to other national media outlets. The talks are set for August 31 with the mediator and by then we should have more info.