Hawaiian Airlines management and union leaders representing 400 pilots will take part in another round of contract negotiations overseen by the National Mediation Board (NMB) in Washington, beginning Dec. 7.

In a letter to both sides, NMB Director Larry Gibbons said the board would not act on the pilots' request for a release from mediation until after the scheduled talks.

Insisting negotiations with Hawaiian management had reached an impasse, the pilots requested a release from mediation on Oct. 26 and asked the NMB to move negotiations into arbitration.

Should talks fail again and either side decline to enter binding arbitration, both sides would be released from mediation and would begin a 30-day cooling-off period, after which Hawaiian's pilots could strike.

Hawaiian's pilots already have voted to authorize a strike if a new labor agreement isn't reached.

Negotiations between Hawaiian management and the pilots union began three years ago. The two sides are mainly negotiating over pay, work rules and benefits.