Feb 21, 2006 11:55 am US/Central
Possible Strike Leaves Passengers, Agents Confused
by Esme Murphy
Minneapolis (WCCO) ―
As the threat of a pilots' strike that could ground Northwest Airlines looms, travelers are left in limbo with no idea what to expect and travel agents are left without answers.
On Monday night, pilots walked picket lines at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, but just to get their message out.
The pilots want a new contract, but the bankrupt airline said it cannot afford to pay pilots the same wages anymore. The airline has asked a judge to throw out the contracts altogether.
The judge is expected to rule on Friday and if he sides with the airline, pilots said they're ready to strike, possibly as early as the middle of next week.
Union leaders for the pilots are predicting when the votes are counted Feb. 28, the union will vote for a walkout.
"Our lives, our careers are at stake here," said Tim Hooey, a pilot for Northwest. "If Northwest continues to overreach, if they will push us to the wall, we will strike."
If the pilots vote to strike, Northwest has promised to file an immediate injunction to block the strike, as the company maintains a union walkout would be illegal.
That leaves passengers and travel agents confused, with few options during a peak travel season.
"That probably their number one question is 'What do we think is going to happen,'" said Gloria Hiner, who owns Campus Travel.
Hiner said she is telling her employees to advise passengers that no one really knows what will happen in the next few weeks.
"This is really the most uncertain I have seen it," Hiner said.
WCCO-TV talked to three other travel agencies and all said the same thing. Passengers are worried and travel agents are telling concerned passengers to consider booking on another airline.
"If you are concerned about being at a specific place at a specific time, maybe you should try something different," Hiner said.
Six months ago, before the mechanics' strike, Northwest gave travel agents assurances the company would continue flying, using replacement workers. Travel agencies said this time, they are not being given any information or assurances from the company.
Negotiations between Northwest and its pilots union are ongoing. The two sides are reportedly still far apart, but both say they are hoping for an agreement.
It is possible the judge will rule later this week that both sides have more time to negotiate before he throws out the contracts, but the union could still announce the results of the strike vote.
A pilots' strike in 1998 shut down the airline, but this time, Northwest said a strike would be illegal because the company is before a bankruptcy judge and all matters involving the company must be decided by a judge.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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