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Duluth Air Travelers Prepare for Northwest Airlines Strike

Posted on: Wednesday, 17 August 2005, 00:00 CDT

Aug. 17--Some Northland travelers are bypassing Duluth, Minn., as the possibility of a strike late Friday looms against Northwest Airlines.

Tracey Tellor, owner of Abby Travel, a Duluth travel agency, is advising clients to avoid flying Northwest as of the threatened strike date.

"I won't book Northwest with a strike looming," she said, adding that memories of the pilots' 1999 strike against the airline are still too fresh.

"It was a long, unprofitable 15 days," Tellor recalled. "All of our agents were busy rebooking people." So far, few people have altered their travel plans because of the threatened strike by mechanics, said Earl Rogers, general manager of Duluth Travel.

"I have to tell my clients that there is the possibility here that flights could be disrupted," he said. "People need to be flexible and realize that things can go wrong." Most people remain confident Northwest will be able to maintain its flight schedule, as promised, even if mechanics do go on strike, he added.

Brian Ryks, executive director of the Duluth Airport Authority, has been offered repeated assurances from Northwest.

"They expect the flight schedule won't be affected by the strike," he said.

Northwest and its affiliates -- Pinnacle and Mesaba Airlines -- are the only commercial carriers that regularly serve Duluth. From Duluth International, Northwest offers seven daily flights to Minneapolis and two to Detroit.

"Northwest has claimed that it is prepared," Ryks said. "They have replacement workers and backup aircraft ready to go. But of course, we won't really know what affect a strike will have on Northwest if and until one occurs." Rogers said Northwest will have a tougher time maintaining service if other unions act in sympathy with striking mechanics.

"The big question is: What will pilots and flight attendants do?" he said.

"I think we have a lot of support," said Randy Reents, acting president of Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association Local 35, representing about 270 workers in Duluth. He predicts members of other unions will refuse to cross the picket line if AMFA decides to strike.

"I think Northwest will need to cancel a lot of flights," Reents said.

Beth Arnold and Simon Teale, course directors for Outward Bound, said that if airline service to Duluth is disrupted, it could result in serious challenges for their organization. The two were dropping off students at Duluth International following a northern Minnesota wilderness canoe trip Tuesday.

The next batch of participants is slated to arrive next Tuesday, and Arnold said Outward Bound leaders don't savor the thought of driving to Minneapolis.

Teale said the non-profit organization would have to absorb the added cost of shuttling participants to and from the Cities.

David Schultz, who flew into Duluth Tuesday to visit family from his home in Albuquerque, N.M., remained unfazed by the threat of a mechanics' strike.

"I don't think they will go on strike," he said. "Northwest is near bankruptcy, and if they want to keep their jobs, they ought to be careful." After repeatedly reporting multi-million-dollar losses, Northwest has asked mechanics to accept a 25 percent cut in pay and the lay off of an additional 2,000 workers.

Reents said about half of Northwest's mechanics already have been laid off in the past few years, and the airline now is asking to cut an additional 53 percent of the work force.

"If they decide they don't need to cut us in half again, I think we could have an agreement," Reents said. But so far, the airline has held to its demands, and Reents predicted a "better-than 50 percent chance" that AMFA will strike.

Carol Johnson, flew into Duluth Tuesday to take part in Denfeld High School's Class of 1945 reunion this week. She is scheduled to return to her home in Penn Valley, Calif., on Saturday and was unaware of the strike threat.

Ryks met Tuesday morning with Reents to discuss AMFA's picketing plans should a strike occur. The union proposes to station pickets at the airport terminal, in the parking lot, at the gate to Northwest's maintenance base in Duluth and outside the airlines' reservation center in Chisholm. Ryks said he is reviewing AMFA's request and will respond to it in short order.

Ryks said he also has met with Duluth Police Department officials to discuss contingency plans, should any conflicts arise during picketing. He said Northwest plans to hire American International Security Corp., a Boston-based firm, to monitor picket activity and ensure order. The company is expected to station 12 to 14 people in Duluth in the event of a strike.

"We're going to keep everything legal and by the book," Reents pledged. "But we do want to get our message out there."

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Copyright (c) 2005, Duluth News-Tribune, Minn.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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NWAC, PNCL, MAIR,

Source: Duluth News-Tribune (Duluth, Minn.)

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