Thu, Jun 19, 2003
Northwest's Expert Wrench-Twisters Think SARS is Mere Cover for
Layoffs
The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) says
Northwest Airlines intends to eliminate an additional 700 mechanics
positions due to SARS.
The union noted in a press release, "The airline
has decided to establish three maintenance lines at the MSP
maintenance base which require approximately 550 positions.
Therefore the total number of layoffs under the plan would be
approximately 150 employees, most of them from the MSP maintenance
base.
"In a letter dated June 17, Northwest notified the union that
the airline intends to eliminate 700 more mechanics positions,
claiming that SARS-related drops in transpacific traffic justify
invoking the force majeure clause of its labor
contract."
The layoffs
are to begin immediately, according to Jeff Mathews, AMFA contract
coordinator for Northwest. "We consider this a clear violation of
our contract terms and are considering the appropriate action to
take," he said. "To our knowledge, Northwest was the only major
airline to invoke the force majeure clause for the Iraq
conflict, and now Northwest is the only major to attempt to invoke
it again on the basis of SARS. This has little to do with SARS and
a lot to do with Northwest's desire to cut costs by circumventing
its contract obligations."
Mathews continued, "The current situation with SARS does not
justify force majeure. In addition, Northwest's letter
provided general data on transpacific traffic not specifically tied
to SARS, and Northwest is implementing the layoffs without the
required notification."
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