Deadline Is August 25... With No New Talks Scheduled

Could this be the blow that knocks Northwest Airlines out of the fight? On Thursday, the carrier's flight attendants union won in court the right to strike the airline, even though Northwest is in bankruptcy.

A spokesman for the carrier says Northwest will appeal the ruling -- and, in the meantime, will make plans in case the flight attendants make good on their threat. As it stands right now, the Association of Flight Attendants says it plans to begin random, local strikes August 25... as part of its "Create Havoc Across Our System", or CHAOS, plan.

"Now, Northwest management has one more chance," said Mollie Reiley, interim head of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. "They have the choice to either set greed aside for once and agree to a fair and equitable contract, or they will face CHAOS."

As Aero-News reported last month, AFA members turned down a second contract offer from Northwest and threatened to strike... teeing up a legal challenge from the airline. Northwest protested that move, stating that according to the National Railway Labor Act of 1931, the AFA couldn't strike against a transportation company in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings.

Northwest says it needs to cut $195 million a year in labor expenses if it's to survive. As you may recall, mechanics were the first to go on strike... and they were replaced wholesale, with non-union workers.

Pilots have gone along with requests to cut pay... but flight attendants say a 40-percent cut is far too much... and they're willing to walk the picket line rather than accept it.

Northwest says it's willing to continue negotiations... but at this point, no new talks are on the calendar, and the clock is ticking down.

The airline has repeatedly said... if it's grounded for any length of time by a flight attendants' strike... the nation's fifth biggest carrier could go under.

FMI: www.nwa.com, www.nwaafa.org