The National Mediation Board issued a statement saying it "remains active in helping the parties reach a consensual labor agreement."
The National Mediation Board is a common fixture in airline labor talks, and it has been involved in earlier talks with flight attendants, too. Federal law generally bars airline strikes unless an NMB mediator releases both sides from negotiations.
But its role hasn't been as clear in Northwest's showdown with the Association of Flight Attendants, which threatened random, unannounced walkouts after Northwest imposed pay cuts and work rules on them with the permission of a bankruptcy judge.Flight attendants had twice voted down negotiated agreements that would have saved Northwest $195 million a year.
Northwest has said such a strike would be illegal, and it has asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper to block one. As of Monday, Gropper hadn't ruled.
WCCO-TV Minneapolis St. Paul
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