Just a Bump in the Beltway

Northwest Attendants Reject Contract
Airline's Plan to Cut Wages May Lead to Strike

By Keith L. Alexander and Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 1, 2006; Page D01

Flight attendants at Northwest Airlines Corp. rejected a contract yesterday that would have cut their pay and benefits by more than 20 percent, moving a step closer to a strike.

Northwest, which has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since September, said it would still implement the cost-cutting agreement today, a move that could trigger a strike. Union leaders said they would give the airline 15 days' notice before flight attendants walk off their jobs. More than 55 percent of the 9,300 flight attendants at the nation's fifth-largest airline voted against the new contract.

Northwest has a limited presence at Washington area airports, with eight daily flights out of Dulles International, 19 daily flights at Reagan National and 13 at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall airports. All of the flights are direct to the airline's hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis or Memphis.

Flight attendants faced pay cuts of about 21 percent, or about $195 million a year, under the proposed contract. The union said the reduction amounted to 40 percent once health care costs and other benefits were included. The flight attendants rejected the decision of the union negotiator who approved the contract last month and presented it to the members for a vote.

Union officials declined to comment on when they might issue a 15-day warning. "We could give it at any point now," said Corey Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants.

Union leaders and airline negotiators were not talking last night and no talks were scheduled.

Caldwell said any job actions would be random and aimed at disrupting Northwest's flight operations. Among the potential actions: Flight attendants could walk off planes, not show up to work or strike at specific airports, Caldwell said.

"It creates chaos, and it is virtually impossible for management to anticipate an react to it," Caldwell said.

This is a fascinating tactic and, I'm afraid, we're all going to get to find out how it works. Northwest has a crappy history of labor relations. But the rest of the airlines are little better.