August 31, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATIONAL MEDIATION BOARD

Contact: NMB Public Information Line -- (202) 692-5050

Re: Senior Mediator John Schrage Leaves the NMB

The NMB announced today that Senior Mediator John Schrage will leave the National Mediation Board on September 17, 2001. Mr. Schrage is leaving the Board to become the Senior Director of Labor Relations for Continental Express Airlines. He will be based in Houston, Texas, and his job responsibilities will include negotiating the labor agreements for all employee groups at Continental Express. Continental Express is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. Continental is in the process of preparing an IPO which will change the relationship to one of "majority owned" status.

Mr. Schrage came to the NMB in March, 1997, as a Mediator, working on airline and railroad negotiations in both mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution cases. In October, 2000, he was appointed to his current position, Senior Mediator for ADR. As the Senior Mediator-ADR, Mr. Schrage has been responsible for managing the Board's Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) training program, for serving as a trainer and facilitator for parties using the IBB process, and for continuing his work as a mediator in airline and railroad cases.