Northwest Flight Attendants Set the Tone for Upcoming Meeting

The AFA-CWA wasted no time in setting the tone for the Sept 26 meeting between Northwest flight attendants and the airline at the National Mediation Board (NMB). In a statement today the AWA-CWA states they have asked the NMB to declare an impasses to invoke a 30 day cooling off period prior to a strike. Kinda throws a bucket of ice water on any warm fuzzies you might have had about this meeting next week doesn't it.

I'll point out the rhetoric the AFA-CWA is using because, again, I think its indicative of the desparation of their strike tactic.

"When management unilaterally cut flight attendant pay, benefits and work rules, they mocked the integrity of the NMB's role in promoting consensual resolution of labor disputes," said Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President.

So apparently the NMB should be offended by Northwest's actions and its the AFA-CWA's job to point that out? Once again they are casting a wide net trying to gather others underneath the umbrella of their "cause". Airline consultant Michael Boyd, who tends to say some pretty smart stuff has this quote regarding the AFA-CWA's position:

"It moves it closer to a resolution," said airline consultant Michael Boyd. "Frankly, I think the flight attendants have gotten stuck in a difficult situation. They may have maneuvered themselves into a corner."

Exactly.

The Gavel Falls Yet Again on Northwest Flight Attendants

The latest effort by Northwest Airlines flight attendants to invoke their right to strike has once again been thwarted. The courts have overturned the decision made by the bankruptcy judge and have granted Northwest Airlines an injunction preventing its flight attendant from striking. Simply put, No Strike for You!

I think you can measure the desperation in the efforts of the AFA-CWA on behalf of the Northwest attendants. All you need to do is look at the rhetoric in their press release sporting the catchy title "Court Tramples Right to Strike". They have resorted to wholesale condemnation of the legal system and corporate greed. They paint broad strokes in attempt to spread this issue to the protection of the "working family" and "...not only for Northwest flight attendants, but for all flight attendants who will walk in our footsteps". You see words like "fight" and "crusade" sprinkled in for good measure. I think its safe to say that this is the end game for their strike tactics.

Update: Please don't confuse the opinion in this post with support for the tactics that Northwest is using on this or any other union. While I do believe pay cuts are necessary I believe the airlines are given far to much latitude under bankruptcy to impose these cuts. I believe this ham-fisted approach is unwarranted and ultimately counter-productive.

Northwest Flight Attendants May Create Their Own CHAOS

A recent update to the Northwest flight attendant union website is once again encouraging its members to rally to behind plans for a CHAOS (Create Havoc Around Our System) strike. The approach should worry any flight attendant at Northwest that wants to keep a job. Union leadership believes a strike will, in their own words, "level the playing field"

"We remain committed to reaching a negotiated agreement with the company regardless of the hurdles along the way," said Mollie Reiley, Interim Master Executive Council President. "However, at this time it appears that the company is more focused on their legal strategy than meaningful discussions. Until the time comes when they are willing to sit down and negotiate a fair contract, it is necessary that we level the playing field and exercising our right to strike does just that."

I disagree. In the industry today the bankrupt airline has a significant advantage negotiating with any union, strike or not. The trail left by US Airways, United and Delta clearly illustrate this. Yes, Northwest has claimed repeatedly that a flight attendants strike could put the airline out of business. That's necessary language to get the bankruptcy court to delay a strike. In the meantime Northwest is (and has been for months) training any office worker that moves to be a flight attendant. Not an ideal situation but it could certainly blunt the effect of a strike. Either way flight attendant jobs are at risk if (a) the airline can survive without them or (b) the airline folds.

OPINION: Northwest Flight Attendants Need Some Spin Control

Note to Association of Flight Attendants representatives at Northwest Airlines, start proofing what you type, watch what you publish, ask your members to be careful what they say in a public forum. I do appreciate the difficult times you face and the pay cuts that are staring you in the face. Not fun...battle on. But the following statement should not have gotten out the door:

"Most of us don't even care about the survival of NWA anymore. How can a company survive under these toxic conditions," flight attendant Kathryn Swarts wrote in a letter to the judge overseeing its bankruptcy.

I think the majority of folks still employed at Northwest Airlines might have an issue with that statement. It comes across as terribly self-serving and isolates you from what should be the common goal...the survival of an airline for the benefit of all who make their living at that airline. Even if that quote is being taken out of context in this article you need to realize that is the risk of saying it in the first place.

NEWS: Surprise! Northwest Needs You

A Northwest Airlines memo announcing plans to recall of all of its furloughed flight attendants and some pilots managed to leaked out yesterday. This is fantastic news for most of these folks and an indicator that business for Northwest is looking better than expected. It is worth noting that there is a decent percentage of flight attendants who took voluntary furloughs. Instead quitting they chose to lay themselves off, maintain a few benefits and see how things went. Northwest has been carrying the cost of keeping these flight attendants current on training, providing flight benefits etc. Now their hand is forced and I wonder if that is part of Northwest's plan. More than one furloughed attendant I have spoken to has mixed feelings about going back to work at this point. Finally, one wonders how this will impact on-going strife between the airline and its flight attendants as they stuggle to hammer out a new union contract. Still its hard not to see this news leak as a positive overall.

NEWS: United Airlines Flight Attendants Approve Deal

United Airlines announced today that their flight attendants have approved their tentative contract. The deal includes wage reductions of 9.5% which should come out to around $131 million in annual savings. The approval margin of 56% was far slimmer than the pilots who approved their new deal by a margin of 75%. It makes one wonder if everyone at United really understands the severity of the situation. This contract, like all of the ratified contracts to date, must be approved by the bankruptcy court before going into effect. The court has made it clear that they will not review and approve any of the new union deals until ALL of them are ratified. So we all have to wait to see what comes of the tenuous situation between the mechanic's union, the airline and the bankruptcy court before we can move on to the next chapter of this soap opera. Twenty six months in bankruptcy and still counting...sigh.