NWA wants $83 million more from mechanics

09/29/2005

Neal Gendler,
Star Tribune
September 29, 2005

Northwest Airlines has demanded an additional $83 million in concessions from the International Association of Mechanics and Aerospace Workers (IAM) and an undisclosed reduction from its pilots union.

In a meeting Monday, Northwest presented IAM District 143 with a “labor target” showing a total of $190.4 million in reductions to come from wages and jobs, up from the $107 million previously.

The proposal shows 5 percent pay cuts for all IAM members through the duration of the bankruptcy and 12.5 percent cuts for baggage handlers, ticket and gate agents, stock clerks and at least the top-step reservationists and clerical workers. The proposal would be amendable Jan. 1, 2011.

Northwest spokesman Bill Mellon said Wednesday that the questions of how much of the $190.4 million would come from pay and how much from job reductions would be the subject of negotiations.

“We’ve been briefing each of the unions in recent days about their fair share of the $1.4 billion labor cost restructuring that we need to achieve,” he said, adding that the airline had met with union leaders for the pilots, flight attendants and ground workers.

Northwest mechanics, in the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, have been on strike since Aug. 19, after union officials turned down a contract with $176 million in reductions, including the loss of about half the jobs. Their jobs are being done by replacement workers. In September, Northwest raised the total to $203 million.

The IAM represents more than 14,000 workers—baggage handlers, ticket and gate agents, reservation service agents, stock clerks, clerical workers and flight-simulator technicians. Bobby DePace, IAM District 143 president, did not respond to a request for information Wednesday. His office said he was in negotiations.

The Northwest “IAM Labor Target” chart given the union suggested restructuring, outsourcing or automating work by stock clerks, baggage handlers at gateways and non-hub airports, ticket and gate agents at non-hub airports, and a category called cargo/food dock. It also showed “global reservations integration,” which could mean work going overseas.

Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch would not discuss outsourcing, but he said some competitors already have employed workers overseas to take calls.

The proposal also would drop maximum vacation accrual from seven weeks to four, and paid holidays from 10 to six. The defined-benefit pension plan would be frozen and a “follow-on plan” negotiated. The proposal also appears to show increased worker costs for health insurance and increased use of part-time workers. Retiree medical benefits “are under review,” the proposal said.

No deadline was given, but the letter with the proposal said that if agreement cannot be reached “in the short run, we will be forced to file a motion [in bankruptcy court] to reject the existing collective bargaining agreement.”

Bob Krabbe, president of the Professional Flight Attendants Association, said negotiators met with the company Wednesday to review its financial data after the airline proposed $195 million in reductions from the union’s 9,700 members. The company has notified the union that 900 flight attendants will be furloughed on Oct. 31 as part of a planned reduction in capacity and a 13 percent reduction in flying time. Another 500 are to be laid off in January.

Will Holman, spokesman for the Northwest pilots’ union, said it, too, has received a new proposal but declined to say anything publicly until members have been informed. He said the last reduction proposal, made March 29, was for $322 million.