Airline, Union Have One Last Chance To Reach Deal

In a move that could either put a final end to months of contemptuous negotiations... or, result in a crippling strike... on Thursday, US Bankruptcy Court Judge Allan Gropper granted Northwest Airlines' request to allow the bankrupt carrier to toss out its existing contracts with its flight attendants.

Mindful of the possible consequences of the decision, however, Gropper also stayed implementation of the order for 14 days, so that additional negotiations may take place between the airline and the Professional Flight Attendants Association.

As Aero-News reported, if an agreement is not reached within that timeframe, the airline would be authorized to implement the terms of the tentative agreement that it reached with the PFAA on March 1, which the flight attendants failed to ratify.

"Northwest bargained in good faith with representatives of PFAA," said Mike Becker, senior vice president of human resources and labor relations at Northwest. "In March, we reached a consensual agreement with the union's negotiating committee whom the flight attendants chose to represent them. The tentative agreement was the result of extensive negotiations involving substantial compromise on the part of Northwest Airlines and PFAA's own negotiating committee."

The flight attendants' union represents the last holdouts in Northwest's attempts to cut costs through permanent wage and benefit reduction agreements. Northwest has reached agreements with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Aircraft Technical Support Association (ATSA), the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), and the Northwest Airlines Meteorologists Association (NAMA).

The PFAA has threatened to strike if Northwest imposes new pay terms.

FMI: www.pfaa.com, www.nwa.com