Northwest mechanics union says strike is best bet

By Kyle Peterson

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Mechanics at Northwest Airlines believe
their strike against the carrier puts them in a better
bargaining position than other labor groups whose talks will be
within the framework of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a union
spokesman said on Tuesday.

When the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, the
union representing 4,400 airline workers, went on strike last
month, they forfeit their previous collective bargaining deal.
As a result, the airline has no obligation to debate the merits
of that contract before a bankruptcy judge.

But an AMFA spokesman said it is a blessing because a
strike is the best ammunition against airline management.

“AMFA is still better off because it is striking,” union
spokesman Steve Conway said. “The airline is really having
trouble operating. From what we know, Northwest is really
struggling.”

AMFA says the carrier desperately needs the striking
technicians, who are more experienced than the substitutes in
maintaining Northwest’s fleet.

Union members have been on strike for a month against the
No. 4 U.S. carrier, which has continued to fly using
replacement technicians and outside vendors. A Northwest
spokesman on Tuesday said that so far there have been no
significant disruptions related to the strike.

The workers walked off the job on August 20 after failing
to reach a deal with Northwest on a labor contract that would
save Northwest $176 million a year. Since then, Northwest has
raised its savings target for the group and offered a new
proposal that would ax even more positions.

Last week, the carrier filed for Chapter 11 protection from
creditors, a move that often gives companies more leverage in
labor negotiations.

Companies in bankruptcy, like UAL Corp’s United Airlines,
have used court protection to wring from labor groups hefty
savings that might have been impossible outside of bankruptcy.
United and US Airways Group, which is emerging from bankruptcy,
also used bankruptcy to jettison underfunded pension plans.

That fact that AMFA members currently are on strike should
mean little to other workers hopeful for a better contract,
said Lowell Peterson, a labor attorney with Meyer, Suozzi,
English & Klein.

“The advantage that the other unions have is that they
still have a contract,” Peterson said. “From that perspective,
the other unions are in a stronger position.”

He said if a bankruptcy judge allows Northwest to void
their collective bargaining agreements, the workers may then
have the legal right to strike. AMFA has already used that
weapon and the airline is still flying, he noted.