A federal bankruptcy judge said yesterday that he could not block Northwest Airlines flight attendants from going on strike, opening the door for a potentially crippling labor disruption at one of the nation’s largest airlines.þþNorthwest, which endured a strike from its mechanics union a year ago that helped push it into bankruptcy, is in a dispute with its 7,300 flight attendants over wage and benefits cuts that the company says it needs to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.þþIf the flight attendants’ union and the airline fail to reach an agreement on salary and benefits by Aug. 25, the union could stage a labor action, Judge Allan L. Gropper of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York ruled. He said he did not have the jurisdiction to stop one. þþA lengthy strike could do more than just halt Northwest flights. The airline, which said last week that it lost $285 million in the second quarter, could face liquidation.þþJudge Gropper, writing that the case “raises issues of great urgency and significance” to the public, said that either side could appeal on an expedited basis. A Northwest spokesman said last night that the company planned to file an appeal today.þþIf the union calls a job action, it would not look like a traditional strike in which all union members walk off the job. The Association of Flight Attendants has said that it would employ a specific strike strategy — one it calls Chaos, for “create havoc around our system.” The idea is to conduct job actions in specific airports or on specific types of jets at different times.þþ“As far as A.F.A. is concerned, Northwest Airlines has one more chance,” Corey Caldwell, a union spokeswoman, said. þþRoman Blahoski, a Northwest spokesman, said the airline had put in place a contingency plan in the event of a strike, but he declined to say specifically what the plan included.þþAlthough yesterday’s ruling puts the airline and its flight attendants one step closer to a strike, the sides may still reach an agreement before next Friday. Talks between Northwest and the union are continuing.þþJudge Gropper also gave himself the broad power to alter the collective bargaining agreement between Northwest and the union in the event of a strike, a power he could use to pressure the flight attendants to return to work.þþ“No party has argued that the bankruptcy court is without power to put in effect interim, essential changes to terms and conditions of employment,” he wrote.þþOn Aug. 1, Northwest imposed pay and benefit cuts on its flight attendants after union members voted to reject the company’s offer. Northwest said it needed $195 million in concessions as part of $1.4 billion in cost reductions to help it emerge from bankruptcy. þþAs a result of the cuts, the flight attendants’ union said its members were now earning an average salary of $33,000. Before Northwest filed for bankruptcy, the union said, the average flight attendant’s salary was about $42,000.þþ
Source: NY Times
