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Northwest mechanics union says strike is best bet

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 September 2005, 14:18 CDT

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.

Source: REUTERS

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