"They are preparing for such a battle, and we'll be prepared, too," he said of the talks in 2007.

"We've had a dialogue about these structural problems in the past," an American official said of the talks, which are to last about a year.

"It's picked up some speed," he said of the talks.

We were not out trying to sell the company," Mr. Schofield said of the recent talks.

"It is a beginning and we hope it will be successful," he said of the talks.

"Compensation plans were clearly not in mind," he said of the talks, which had often been rancorous.

He said of the talks: "There were strong disagreements but it was good-natured.

"They were tough," Crane said of the talks.

"We want to put them on the front burner again," Mr. Bodson said of the talks.

"If they work it out, it would certainly help our negotiations," one Parks Department official said of the talks with highway workers.