MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Northwest Airlines should not be forced to allow rank-and-file flight attendants to observe contract negotiations, a federal judge has ruled.þþThe Professional Flight Attendants Association union sued the Eagan-based carrier because Northwest management said it would not allow flight attendants to sit in on bargaining sessions.þþThe union's constitution states that members have a right to observe negotiations.þþU.S. District Judge Michael Davis said, ``The appropriate question is not whether Northwest's actions force PFAA to violate their constitution, but whether those actions violate the Railway Labor Act,'' the federal law governing airline contract talks.þþDavis, in a ruling issued in Minneapolis late Friday, denied the union's request to require Northwest to admit observers. Northwest is attempting to cut its labor costs by at least $950 million a year, and the company has argued that observers could prolong negotiations.þþHis ruling came just one week after U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson ordered the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association to follow the directives of a federal mediator, who excluded observers from those talks.þþDavis cited Magnuson's decision in his order. ``As in the AMFA decision, the PFAA has not shown that its members will be deprived of a fundamental right to representation, but they will instead be deprived only of the opportunity to view those representatives' work at the negotiating table,'' Davis said.þþPFAA's offices were closed Monday for the Presidents' Day holiday, and union leaders could not be reached for comment.þþOn Friday, the union criticized Northwest, saying its request for mediation, which was granted, was premature.þþ
Source: NY Times
