Washington, DC -- Citing the vital role that COTS plays in the community, Sen. Patrick Leahy, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Rep. Peter Welch hope an agreement between the parties can be reached.

The following letter was sent by the Vermont delegation to the COTS Board of Directors and UE Vermont today:

January 24, 2007

COTS Board of Directors                                    UE Vermont
c/o COTS Board Chair Tim Halvorson                   416 Pine Street
Halvorson's Café                                              Burlington, VT 05401
16 Church St.
Burlington, VT 05401

Dear COTS Board of Directors and UE Vermont:

We appreciate the very important role that COTS plays in our community and we hope that an agreement can soon be reached between the COTS Board, employees and the United Electrical Workers Union (UE).

Our understanding is that the UE has recently proposed an election process which is similar to that proposed by the COTS Board.  In other words, the parties are close to an agreement as to the rules under which a union election should be held.

We strongly recommend that a meeting between the COTS Board of Directors, employees and the UE take place very soon so the differences between the two parties can be resolved as early as possible.

Sincerely,

PATRICK LEAHY                BERNARD SANDERS              PETER WELCH
United States Senator       United States Senator           United States Congressman