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Northwest Airlines Corp. and its flight attendants reached a sort of truce on Monday, with a new round of talks replacing court battles over strike threats. Last week, 80 percent of the voting members of the Professional Flight Attendants Association rejected the pay cuts and changes to work rules their union leaders had negotiated. Northwest had warned last month that it "does not have the luxury of returning to the bargaining table."
And when the vote was finished June 6, Northwest asked a bankruptcy judge to let it impose its terms.
But on Monday, the airline backed down. Talks were set to begin Wednesday, the union said.
Airline spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch had no immediate comment on the planned talks.
The union said the airline agreed not to impose its terms on them until at least June 30, and the union promised not to strike until sometime after that. The union also said the airline was withdrawing, for now, a motion for a court order to block a strike.
"We have been willing all along to sit down with the company and renegotiate an acceptable, consensual agreement to do our part to lift Northwest Airlines out of bankruptcy," said PFAA President Guy Meek.
Northwest has been looking for $1.4 billion a year in labor savings from its unions as it restructures under bankruptcy protection. By Monday, the 9,300 flight attendants were the last holdouts.
Flight attendants had warned they may strike if Northwest imposed its terms on them. Northwest had said a strike would be illegal.
Chicago Tribune
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