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August Strike at Northwest Possible; Airline Hopes to Make Deal With Mechanics Union

Posted on: Saturday, 23 July 2005, 15:00 CDT

A possible strike looming at Northwest Airlines Corp. could affect travelers at Milwaukee's Mitchell International Airport, where Northwest is the second busiest carrier.

The National Mediation Board last week released the airline and the union representing Northwest mechanics and other ground crew workers from mediated talks, triggering a 30-day "cooling off" period. The board's action means that a strike could begin Aug. 20 if a new labor agreement isn't reached by that time.

Northwest says it still hopes to reach an agreement with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which represents 4,500 airline employees, including 43 of Northwest's 168 employees in Milwaukee.

The company also vowed to continue flying even if a strike occurs.

Northwest has contingency plans, including shifting more work to outside contractors as well as hiring and training replacement mechanics, said Andrew Roberts, executive vice president- operations.

Those steps will "ensure that Northwest continues to operate reliably and is able to fly its full schedule," Roberts said in a statement.

Northwest said only a small percentage of its planes would need heavy maintenance between August and November.

The chances that Northwest could operate smoothly during a strike "are about as likely as winning the trifecta, considering all the things that would have to go right," said O.V. Delle-Femine, the union's national director.

In the Minneapolis-St. Paul hub, where hundreds of Northwest planes arrive and depart every hour, replacement mechanics would have to keep up with that heavy workload "while learning from scratch how to work in this totally unfamiliar environment," Delle- Femine said in a statement.

"They won't even know where the tools are," Delle-Femine said.

Northwest has been increasing its Milwaukee service since 2003 and offers 38 flights daily to 13 non-stop destinations. That's up from 16 flights daily to three destinations two years ago.

Of Northwest's 38 daily flights from Mitchell International Airport, 20 flights are offered through the Northwest Airlink regional carrier, which is operated in Milwaukee by Pinnacle Airlines Inc.

A strike at Northwest would not affect operations at Pinnacle because its employees are not represented by the union, said Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch.

Northwest is seeking $1.1 billion worth of annual wage concessions from its workers. It got $300 million from pilots and salaried employees last year, but mechanics and flight attendants have resisted.

The concessions from mechanics and other ground crew employees would total $176 million, and involve pay cuts of up to 26%, the union said. The union said it has offered pay cuts of up to 16%.

Northwest said the union's proposal offers potential cost reductions of $87 million on a temporary basis.

The union's offer calls for two years of reductions, with wages returning to 2005 levels in 2007, regardless of market conditions, the company says.

Regardless of whether a strike occurs, Mitchell's largest carrier, Oak Creek-based Midwest Airlines Inc., probably wouldn't see a big bump in passengers, a company spokeswoman said. Midwest Airlines offers 142 daily flights to 48 destinations from Mitchell.

Most strike threats in the airlines industry aren't carried out because settlements are usually reached before the strike deadline, said Carol Skornicka, senior vice president of corporate affairs at Midwest Air Group Inc., corporate parent of Midwest Airlines.

If a strike happens, Northwest would scramble to continue flying a full schedule, Skornicka said.

In any event, Midwest would be hard-pressed to pick up a large share of Northwest's business, she said, because Midwest is already flying at a high capacity.

Midwest Airlines recorded a 41% increase in passengers in June, compared with June 2004, according to the company's latest monthly performance report. Skyway Airlines Inc., a regional service operated by Midwest Air Group, reported a 26% passenger increase in June.

The large increase in business, coupled with the company's decision to consolidate the Midwest Airlines and Skyway Airlines ground crews to save money, has resulted in recent flight delays and other service problems, Midwest Air Group Chairman Tim Hoeksema said last week. He said the company is working to improve service through increased training of newly hired ground crew employees, and other steps.

STRIKE DATE

A strike could begin Aug. 20 if a new labor agreement isn't reached by that time.

AFFECT ON MIDWEST

-- Because Midwest is already flying at a high capacity, it is unlikely to pick up a large share of Northwest's business.

-- Midwest Airlines recorded a 41% increase in passengers in June, compared with June 2004, according to the company's latest monthly performance report.

Copyright 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. (Note: This notice does not apply to those news items already copyrighted and received through wire services or other media.)

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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