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Category: Northwest News
Date: 07 Jan 2006
Time: 12:20:14 -0500
Remote Name: 66.27.196.95
Last update: January 05, 2006 – 6:34 AM Northwest Airlines flight attendants may strike Northwest Airlines' largest union on Wednesday objected to the company's effort to eliminate almost half of its members' jobs to cut costs during the airline's bankruptcy. Lynne Marek, Bloomberg News The Northwest Airlines flight attendants union said it may strike if a bankruptcy judge allows the carrier to reject its union contract, according to a bankruptcy filing late Wednesday. Northwest is negotiating with pilots, flight attendants and ground workers ahead of a Jan. 17 hearing in which the nation's fourth-largest airline will ask to reject their contracts. Northwest has said it wants to use more foreign-based flight attendants on international flights and use flight attendants at a new subsidiary on smaller domestic flights. The Professional Flight Attendants Association said such a move could reduce their number by half. "Northwest Flight Attendants understand that the carrier's proposals will destroy their profession and PFAA believes that, in response, the membership will authorize a strike to shut down Northwest's operations," PFAA President Guy Meek said in the filing. Unions that represent ground workers and pilots also have said they could strike if Northwest gets its way, but Wednesday's statement was the strongest yet from flight attendants. Also on Wednesday, the International Association of Machinists, which represents 15,000 ground workers, objected to the Northwest's effort to eliminate almost half of its members' jobs to cut costs during the airline's bankruptcy. In a bankruptcy filing, the union said Northwest wants to cut about 6,750 workers and replace them with contractors or employ them at reduced pay in a newly created unit. Bloomberg News contributed to this report.