Union's Last Possible Option Is US Supreme Court

In another in a series of legal setbacks for flight attendants at Northwest Airlines, a federal appeals court Thursday upheld a lower court ruling, stating flight attendants cannot legally strike the bankrupt carrier to protest cuts in pay and benefits.

"Although this is a complicated case, one feature is simple enough to describe: Northwest's flight attendants have proven intransigent in the face of Northwest's manifest need to reorganize," said the three-judge panel of the US 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals, according to Bloomberg News.

As Aero-News reported, New York Federal District Court Judge Victor Marrero ruled last September Northwest’s flight attendants did not have the right to strike, due to the crippling impact such an event would have on the carrier. With that ruling, the union lost an important bargaining tool in its efforts to overturn the contract imposed on the FAs in August 2006.

Association of Flight Attendants spokesman Ricky Thorton said the union was "very surprised" by the latest court decision, and was debating whether to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court.

The AFA wants the National Mediation Board -- the federal body now overseeing the labor dispute -- to release the union from talks with Northwest. Such a decision would trigger a 30-day countdown to a possible strike, as per federal guidelines.

Representatives with both sides haven't met since February 2, and there are no indications either side will return to the bargaining table anytime soon.

"For airline unions, this is a big setback," said Air Transport Association attorney John Gallagher on the ruling.

FMI: www.nwa.com, www.nwaafa.org