The State : Talks Set in Wine Strike

New talks that will include a federal mediator were scheduled for Friday as the harvest-time strike against some of California’s largest wineries entered its fifth week. “We are guardedly optimistic,” attorney Robert Lieber, negotiator for the 12-member Winery Employers Assn., said while announcing the development in San Francisco. The wineries are locked in a contract stalemate with the Winery, Distillery and Allied Workers Union locals 45 and 186. Lieber gave no reason for the slight optimism and indicated that neither side had budged from its last position. Speaking for Local 186, Cathy Dalsis said: “I think it’s a positive step that we’re going to the table. That’s as far as our optimism will go.” The last talks broke off Sept. 3 with harsh words from both sides. About 1,200 workers in nine wineries from the Napa Valley to Bakersfield are on picket lines in a dispute involving a broad range of money and fringe issues.