MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Mesaba Airlines pilots have strongly approved a measure allowing their union, the Air Line Pilots Association, to call a strike at one of the nation's largest regional carriers in a dispute over a new contract.þþMesaba's 850 pilots and the company are divided on wages, job security, work rules and retirement.þþMesaba flies as a regional partner of Northwest Airlines, ferrying passengers from smaller cities into Northwest's hubs in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit and Memphis. The carrier serves 109 cities in 28 states and Canada.þþThe strike authorization was approved by 98 percent of Mesaba pilots.þþ``Our pilots have sent a clear and bold message to management,'' said Tom Wychor, a pilot and chairman of the Mesaba unit of ALPA. ``If we can't come to terms with management on a new agreement that recognizes our contributions to this company, our pilots are prepared to strike.''þþStill, he said, ``our goal is a fair and equitable contract, not a strike.''þþPilots would not be able to begin a 30-day countdown to a strike until released from mediation by the National Mediation Board, which oversees airline and railroad labor disputes. Pilots asked the board for release in August, but the board has not yet responded.þþMesaba said it hoped an agreement could be reached through negotiations.þþ``Our goal remains to reach an agreement without any interruption in operations, but we must achieve a contract that allows Mesaba Airlines to survive and grow amid the current industry challenges,'' said John Spanjers, Mesaba's president and chief operating officer.þþALPA said Mesaba pilots agreed to a concessionary contract in 1996, saving the company more than $10 million in labor costs to date. The union also said starting salaries for Mesaba pilots, who operate both jet and turboprop airliners, is less than $17,000 per year. After three years that salary increases to $24,000.þþIn addition to the contract issues, Mesaba pilots also are upset because Mesaba's holding company, MAIR Holdings Inc., purchased Montana-based Big Sky Airlines last year and management has refused to discuss merging the two pilot groups.þþMesaba, meanwhile, has its own fears. The carrier said earlier this month that Northwest might terminate its contract with Mesaba to fly 36 Avro RJ-85 jets, which could mean the loss of 40 percent of the regional carrier's revenue and jobs.þþThe airline and the union have been in contract negotiations since June 2001. A federal mediator joined the talks in August 2002.þþ
Source: NY Times
