Jun 6, 2006 12:11 pm US/Central
NWA Flight Attendants Wrap Contract Vote
Minneapolis (AP) ―
Flight attendants at Northwest Airlines Corp. were set to wrap up voting on Tuesday on permanent pay cuts, and rejection could set up a showdown with the bankrupt airline.
Northwest claims it has the legal right to impose new contract terms on flight attendants if they reject the tentative agreement reached with union leaders. However, Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch wouldn't speculate on whether the airline would impose terms immediately if flight attendants vote down the agreement.
"We do reserve the right to strike," said Karen Schultz, spokeswoman for the Professional Flight Attendants Association. A strike authorization in February won support from 92 percent of union members.
She said if the deal was voted down, the union would seek to return to negotiations with Northwest, which is reorganizing in bankruptcy court.
But Northwest appears to have ruled that out.
"The Company does not have the luxury of returning to the bargaining table for Round 2," Northwest Vice President for Inflight Services Suzanne Boda wrote to flight attendants on May 12. "The implementation of labor cost reductions must begin immediately."
She also warned flight attendants that Northwest's imposed terms would be even worse than the ones being voted on. Northwest would assign almost a third of international flying to foreign flight attendants, she wrote, and require more furloughs than currently expected.
Northwest wants savings worth $195 million a year from flight attendants, as part of $1.4 billion in concessions from all its workers. It has permanent deals in place with all but the flight attendants and the union representing baggage handlers and ramp workers, who are voting through this week on their own pay-cut deal. Their ballots will be counted on Friday.
The new flight attendant contract would cut hourly pay by 21 percent and would leave them making roughly $18,000 to $43,000 a year. The union said that increases in health insurance premiums and other concessions mean they're losing the equivalent of 40 percent of their pay.
(© 2006 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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