SECTION 3 - COST-OF-LIVING

Part B of Article 111 - Cost-Of-Living Payments of the 2002 National Agreement is amended to read as follows:

"Part B - Cost-of-Living Allowance and Adjustments Thereto After January 1, 2005

Section 1 - Cost-of-Living Allowance and Effective Dates of Adjustments

(a) A cost-of-living allowance shall be payable in the manner set forth in and subject to the provisions of this Part, on the basis of the "Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (Revised Series) (CPI-W)" (1967=100), U.S. Index, all items - unadjusted, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US. Department of Labor, and hereinafter referred to as the CPI. The first such cost-of-living allowance shall be payable effective July 1, 2005 based, subject to paragraph (b), on the CPI for March 2005 as compared with the CPI for September 2004, Such allowance, and further cost-of-living adjustments thereto which shall become effective as described below, shall be based on the change in the CPI during the respective measurement periods shown in the following table, subject to the exception provided in paragraph (b)(iii), according to the formula set forth in paragraph (c).

          Measurement Periods

                                              Effective Date
   Base Month         Measurement Month       of Adjustment

September 2004           March 2005            July 1,2005

March 2005               September 2005        January 1,2006

Measurement Periods and Effective Dates conforming to the above schedule shall be applicable to periods subsequent to those specified above during which this Article is in effect.

(b) (i) Cap. In calculations under paragraph (c), the maximum increase in the CPI that shall be taken into account shall be as follows: