Thu, Nov 30, 2006
File Appeal In Federal Court
Just in time for the holiday travel
season, flight attendants at Northwest Airlines say they won't give
up in their battle against pay cuts imposed by the carrier.
The Association of Flight Attendants has asked a federal appeals
court to overturn a lower court decision that bars them from
walking out while contract mediation talks go on. Northwest, which
is currently fighting to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, says a
strike would hurt travelers... and says the federal ban on striking
gives both sides time to reach a deal "in a cooler atmosphere."
After two failed tentative agreements, in July Northwest
scrapped its old contract with flight attendants, and imposed new
pay terms aimed at saving $195 million per year.
In August, bankruptcy court judge Allan Gropper denied
Northwest's request to block a strike by flight attendants -- a ruling that was overturned one month
later by US federal judge Victor Marrero.
That decision hasn't sat well with the flight attendants. "We
are not compelled to not strike," the union's lawyer, Edward
Gilmartin, told a three-judge panel of the appeals court, according
to Reuters.
Flight attendants say the new rules imposed by the forced
contract mandate "40 percent cuts and 25 percent more time at work"
-- terms the union calls "unlivable".
Northwest attorney Brian Leitch says the Railway Labor Act --
the oft-cited legislation, dating back to 1931, that regulates
strike activity -- forbids the flight attendants from striking
while the current, mediated talks are underway.
While flight attendants may wish to strike Northwest, "it's not
the law," Leitch said.
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