The swiftness of the agreement surprised many in the industry, who had expected long rancorous labor negotiations up to the contract deadline of July 31.

Three years ago, Nynex negotiated a relatively generous labor agreement months ahead of the contract deadline.

To avoid a strike, the transit agency called for binding arbitration if no settlement is reached before the contract deadline.

Work started in April 2008 and was completed on September 19, 2008, a week earlier than the contract deadline.

Hollywood had been in a state of frazzled anticipation for six months as the contract deadline approached.

Yale University and its two major labor unions agreed yesterday to extend their contract deadline to March 1.

However, it was reported that both the federal and provincial funding totalling $400 million was not secured before the contract deadline of December 15.

New York's largest janitors' union signed a tentative three-year agreement with the real estate industry yesterday, seven weeks before the contract deadline.

She noted that only once before in the 31-year history of the union had negotiators worked beyond the contract deadline without a new contract.

The concessions went considerably further than some companies wanted to go, and they came only after several contract deadlines had passed.