In December 1985, Borman met with Lorenzo to elicit possible Eastern interest. CAL had been looking to gain more critical mass and strategic assets. Then, in January 1986, Eastern faced another financial crisis and sought more concessions from its unions. Borman said that Eastern needed to "either get long term economic relief from its labor unions or enter bankruptcy and impose that relief, just as now-thriving Continental did under Frank Lorenzo in September 1983", but Eastern's machinists' union refused to renegotiate its contract. After Texas Air made an offer to buy Eastern, despite the unions' generally negative opinion of Lorenzo's tactics, union leader Bryan said, "it might be surprising the relationship that could develop between Lorenzo and our organization". Eastern established a deadline with its three major unions to grant concessions or have the company sold to Texas Air; when the deadline passed without the concessions, the Eastern sale was signed early Monday morning on March 24, 1986. Although there was more litigation to stop the deal, it was approved by shareholders in November 1986.