Aug 9, 2006 10:20 pm US/Central
Judge Delays Decision For Flight Attendants, NWA
by Bridgette Bornstein
(WCCO)
A judge has delayed a decision that could decide the fate of upcoming flights on Northwest Airlines.
Flight attendants are threatening to disrupt travel as early as next week.
Thursday a bankruptcy judge in New York heard from both sides, but said he'll rule at a later date. This decision is being watched closely by everyone in the airline industry.
The whole situation is a big concern for travelers too.
Flight attendants have held informational pickets warning of a possible random strike. That could mean sudden delays and cancelled flights. They call it "chaos," and it could start as early as next Tuesday night.
"Just because the deadline is the 15th at 9:00 it doesn't mean it's going to happen," Camilla Wolkerstorfer of the Association of Flight Attendants said. "It could but only the flight attendants and AFA will know when it's going to happen."
Thursday the two sides were in a New York courtroom. Northwest argued that any sort of strike would be illegal, but the flight attendants said they have every right to walk off the job.
They voted down the airline's latest contract offer, but the court allowed Northwest to impose terms on the flight attendants, terms they rejected back in March. That's why it has come to this.
"They've taken away work rules that it's taken us 35 years to get, and they've just evaporated in front of our faces," Wolkerstorfer said. "Forty percent is very difficult to live under and I think the general public can understand that. If they got their paycheck and 40 percent of it is gone. How do you live like that?"
Flight attendants want to go back to the table and a Northwest spokesperson says they're willing, but right now there are no new talks scheduled.
Northwest told the judge that strike actions by its flight attendants could cripple the airline to the point of shutting down.
The flight attendants union said they are the pioneers, the first to threaten a random strike under these circumstances.
A few months ago pilots threatened to strike and Northwest said that would be illegal. A walkout never happened.
A judge delayed a decision on whether Northwest could impose terms. During that delay the two sides did come to an agreement.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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