This year, Northwest's 5,000 pilots and 13,000 ground workers ratified deals that save Northwest $550 million annually. The flight attendants union is the only group at Northwest that hasn't agreed to concessions, which labor experts say leave unions for pilots and ground workers in a precarious position.
Whether a strike will take place is unclear. Northwest, with approval from a bankruptcy judge, imposed lower wages and benefits on its flight attendants Monday after those workers rejected a contract proposal with hefty concessions. The union answered by saying it will be ready to strike individual flights, cities or en masse, as early as Aug. 15.
If the unions want to make a statement to the company, Chaison said, they'll support a flight attendants strike. Northwest unions were faced with a similar decision a year ago, when the airline's union mechanics went on strike. No other Northwest union honored the still ongoing strike by the mechanics group, which has few allies in the nation's labor movement.
In this case, the pilots say they'd support the attendants' right to strike. But heads of the pilot and ground workers unions said they hope attendants can reach a deal so all can move on.
No new talks are scheduled between the airline and the flight attendants union.
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