IN BRIEF : Eastern Airlines, Machinists to Talk

MIAMI — Eastern Airlines and the machinists union plan to return to the bargaining table on Jan. 6 for intense federal mediation aimed at ending a year-old contract snafu which management claims is helping destroy the carrier.

Federal mediator Harry Bickford said Thursday that the negotiations are aimed at settling the dispute without declaring an impasse that would trigger a 30-day cooling-off period.

National Mediation Board Chairman Walter Wallace will participate in the talks, which are expected to last at least a week at an undisclosed location.

Negotiations have bogged down over the machinists’ refusal to accept any major pay cuts. Machinists leader Charles E. Bryan has charged that Eastern management wants to provoke a strike as a union-busting tactic.