File Appeal In Federal Court

Just in time for the holiday travel season, flight attendants at Northwest Airlines say they won't give up in their battle against pay cuts imposed by the carrier.

The Association of Flight Attendants has asked a federal appeals court to overturn a lower court decision that bars them from walking out while contract mediation talks go on. Northwest, which is currently fighting to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, says a strike would hurt travelers... and says the federal ban on striking gives both sides time to reach a deal "in a cooler atmosphere."

After two failed tentative agreements, in July Northwest scrapped its old contract with flight attendants, and imposed new pay terms aimed at saving $195 million per year.

In August, bankruptcy court judge Allan Gropper denied Northwest's request to block a strike by flight attendants -- a ruling that was overturned one month later by US federal judge Victor Marrero.

That decision hasn't sat well with the flight attendants. "We are not compelled to not strike," the union's lawyer, Edward Gilmartin, told a three-judge panel of the appeals court, according to Reuters.

Flight attendants say the new rules imposed by the forced contract mandate "40 percent cuts and 25 percent more time at work" -- terms the union calls "unlivable".

Northwest attorney Brian Leitch says the Railway Labor Act -- the oft-cited legislation, dating back to 1931, that regulates strike activity -- forbids the flight attendants from striking while the current, mediated talks are underway.

While flight attendants may wish to strike Northwest, "it's not the law," Leitch said.

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