Midwest Airlines Employees Protest Decision to Hire Contractor Will Bring 270 Layoffs

By TOM DAYKIN

About 200 Midwest Airlines pilots, flight attendants and their supporters rallied Thursday to protest the airline’s recent decision to hire an outside contractor to operate additional flights, bringing an upcoming layoff of 270 Midwest employees.

Those will be the latest in a series of major job cuts for the Oak Creek-based company, which will end up with 45% of the work force it had when the year began.

The union workers and their family members met outside the local office of the Air Line Pilots Association on S. Howell Ave., just across the street from Mitchell International Airport. They hope to raise public support for their cause, said Jay Schnedorf, chairman of the local pilots union.

“They are outsourcing these jobs,” even though Midwest CEO Timothy Hoeksema said the January sale of Midwest to TPG Capital and Northwest Airlines Corp. would help preserve jobs, Schnedorf said in an interview after the rally.

With the latest round of layoffs, Midwest will have cut 1,850 jobs since the beginning of the year. The company’s work force was around 3,380 employees when it was sold for $451.8 million to TPG/ Northwest on Jan. 31. It will have around 1,530 employees with the latest cuts.

Midwest said last week that it has agreed to lease a dozen Embraer 170 jets from Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings, beginning Oct. 1. The jets will be flown and maintained by Republic employees for the first year or so, which is why Midwest will be laying off some of its workers.

Republic, to secure the 10-year lease, agreed to provide a one- year, $15 million loan to cash-strapped Midwest. Republic has a separate loan commitment of another $10 million for Midwest if the company achieves certain financial goals.

Republic’s $25 million in financing is part of up to $60 million in new cash for Midwest. The airline said the new cash, including commitments from TPG Capital, represents significant progress in its financial restructuring plan and could help the company avoid a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

But the Embraer 170s, which will fly under the Midwest Connect banner, are replacing some Boeing 717 jets that Midwest Airlines uses. The Embraer 170s are smaller and do not offer the signature wide seats the Boeing 717 jets have. Schnedorf said those changes will hurt Midwest passengers along with its workers.

“They must think the public is stupid, and isn’t going to notice” the changes, Schnedorf said. He also said the change violates the labor agreement between the company and the pilots union.

Midwest’s aircraft decision will cause difficulties for employees who are losing their jobs, said airline spokesman Michael Brophy. But the agreement with Republic, and the accompanying financing from Republic and TPG Capital, allows Midwest to remain viable, he said.

Midwest believes the agreement with Republic doesn’t violate the labor agreement, Brophy said. He said the company’s plan is to rehire the furloughed flight crews and maintenance workers after they’re trained on the new jets. That process will likely take eight months to a year.

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