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A meeting last week among United Transportation Union (UTU) and Sheet Metal Workers' International Association (SMWIA) leaders didn’t change the status of a long-planned and legally ensnarled merger between the unions. The marriage remains on hold.

UTU International President Mike Futhey and the union’s entire board met with General President Mike Sullivan and other SMWIA leaders in an attempt to convince SMWIA officials that a constitution governing the proposed International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) — the new organization that would result from the merger — must be negotiated and presented to UTU’s membership for ratification.

A federal district court, which last year halted the merger’s implementation because of concerns over an agreed-upon constitution, had urged the unions to negotiate terms for a SMART constitution.

“We remain awaiting any positive development that would permit a democratic vote by our membership,” said Futhey in a prepared statement.