MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The mechanics union for Northwest Airlines Corp. said Thursday that it will not vote on the carrier's latest offer, saying the company inserted last-minute language that violates the union's constitution.þþIn an update posted on the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association Web site, the union said the language added by Northwest was not addressed at a recent meeting between the two parties.þþThe update by AMFA Region II Director Jim Young claims that when the union told Northwest the added language violated the union's constitution, the airline said it was unable to agree to modify the language.þþ''As a result, AMFA will remain on strike,'' Young wrote.þþIn a letter to Young dated Thursday, Northwest's vice president for labor relations, Julie Hagen Showers, said the airline was unclear about AMFA's position.þþHagen Showers wrote that ''Northwest proposed a broad 'no retribution' clause, intended to ensure that the emotions of the strike do not cause distractions, hostilities or disruptions in the workplace following the end of the strike ... Northwest is disappointed that AMFA would contemplate continuing post-strike hostilities.''þþA Northwest spokesman said the airline would not comment beyond the letter.þþAfter meetings between the two sides last week, AMFA said it would allow its members to vote on the company's latest offer, which might preserve only 500 of the 4,100 jobs that AMFA members held when they went on strike Aug. 20.þþBut after the meeting, the proposal contained ''a little bit of extra added information ... that totally violated any kind of potential ability for us to bring it back to membership. So we can't. And we won't,'' said AMFA strike coordinator Mike Bauer.þþOn its Web site, AMFA said the added language ''would have taken away the union's legal right to address internal disputes that are outside the jurisdiction of Northwest Airlines.''þþNorthwest said if AMFA does not confirm by noon on Friday that it has distributed the latest offer for a membership vote, the airline will resume hiring permanent replacement workers.þþ
Source: NY Times
