Sep 1, 2005 9:24 pm US/Central
Striking Mechanics Try To Stop Replacement Workers
Minneapolis (AP) ―
Striking Northwest Airlines mechanics confronted replacement workers Thursday afternoon in an attempt to block the buses that take them to jobs at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
At a Radisson Hotel on University of Minnesota property, about 50 strikers in street clothes chanted "scabs go home" and "scab hotel."
They jumped on the front bumper of a tour bus filled with replacement workers, but only delayed it for about five minutes.
Police were on the scene, telling strikers to back off.
"If you don't shut up and listen, we're going to start arresting people," Steve Johnson, deputy chief of the university police, told a strike leader.
One striker was arrested and cited for blocking traffic, Johnson said.
Also on Thursday, the Air Line Pilots Association said it would enter voluntary negotiations with Northwest to help the airline avoid bankruptcy. Those negotiations will likely start next week, said Capt. Mark McClain, chairman of the union's Northwest branch.
"We feel that we can get a better settlement in negotiations voluntarily with Northwest management than we can get through the bankruptcy court," said McClain. The pilots already accepted a 15 percent pay reduction in December.
Meanwhile Mike Bauer, a strike coordinator for the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, said the strikers planned on staying outside the hotel "until the scabs go home."
He said the group would continue to try to block the buses, but the intention was not to get arrested.
"This is a legal, peaceful protest," he said.
About 4,400 mechanics, cleaners, and custodians walked out Aug. 20 rather than accept 25 percent pay cuts and layoffs that would have halved their work force. Northwest immediately replaced the strikers with temporary workers, contractors and vendors -- and kept flying.
The union planned similar protests Thursday outside two other hotels in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area during a scheduled shift change for replacement workers. About 40 strikers went to the Four Points by Sheraton on Industrial Boulevard in Minneapolis and yelled as a handful of replacement workers got onto a bus to go to work.
When the first bus came in, about 10 of the strikers stood within one inch of the bus and yelled. Unarmed police got involved and kept the strikers to the side. There were no arrests.
At a Holiday Inn in Minneapolis, union local President Ted Ludwig stood in front of an empty bus that is used to carry replacement workers.
Holding a megaphone, he told about 60 union members and supporters: "Those are our jobs and this bus is supposed to deliver scabs to do our work, and it's wrong."
Northwest had no comment on the protests, other than to say that the airline was focused on serving its customers.
Back at the Radisson, AMFA mechanic Lenny Alves said he wasn't sure how long strikers would stay at the hotel, but he's ready to remain there through the weekend if necessary.
"It's Labor Day weekend -- we're labor. We're not out here drinking beer and eating brats, we're fighting for our jobs," he said.
(© 2005 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
