Say Negotiations Have Failed, They Want Out

The Association of Flight Attendants - CWA (AFA-CWA), representing Northwest's flight attendants (FA) asked the National Mediation Board (NMB) to release them from further mediation with Northwest yesterday.

In a release AWA-CWA's Interim Master Executive Council President Mollie Reiley said, "The NMB was created to protect employees, not strip away their rights as the courts have done. Management has no motivation to negotiate - they have already taken over $200 million a year from us and the district court has prevented us from striking."

She said the right to strike is the only tool working men and women have to fight for worker's rights.

As ANN reported last week, a district court judge overturned an earlier bankruptcy court ruling and granted Northwest's request for a preliminary injunction forestalling a threatened strike by the company's flight attendants.

Northwest unilaterally instituted a cap on total compensation for flight attendants, in its quest to save $195 million annually as allowed by the bankruptcy court ruling. This, after flight attendants had rejected two Northwest offers.

AFA-CWA International President Patricia Friend claims Northwest's management "mocked" the NMB by unilaterally cutting flight attendant pay and benefits and changing work rules. She accuses Northwest management of stalling negotiations so they can keep concessions given to Northwest by the bankruptcy court.

The NMB is a federal agency that enforces the Railway Labor Act (RLA). The RLA requires free and fair collective bargaining in the US aviation and railroad industries. Under rules of the act, an impasse is declared if the NMB determines further mediation would not result in an agreement. If the two parties agree, the dispute goes to arbitration. If either side rejects arbitration, a 30-day cooling-off period commences.

Should the NMB declare an impasse, AFA-CWA would regain the right to strike, assuming neither side accepts arbitration and the cooling-off period expires without an agreement.

The NMB has request a status conference between AFA-CWA and company management for Tuesday, September 26.

FMI: www.afanet.org, www.nwa.com, www.nmb.gov