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Thursday, Sep. 3, 1998
Northwest cancels holiday flights
Airline lays off 27,500; talks with pilots scheduled for Saturday
By KAREN MILLS
Associated PressMINNEAPOLIS -- Northwest Airlines on Wednesday laid off more than half its workforce -- 27,500 employees -- and canceled all flights through Labor Day because of the pilots strike.
In a positive development, both sides agreed to meet for ``exploratory'' talks in Chicago on Saturday at the request of federal mediators. The National Mediation Board was careful not to describe the talks as negotiations.
The layoffs included flight attendants, mechanics, customer service employees and other ground workers.
``This is a sad day for Northwest Airlines,'' said Dewayne Tucker, a Northwest vice president.
Because of the layoffs, it will take the airline eight to 10 days to resume a full flight schedule when the strike ends, spokesman Jon Austin said.
Northwest has about 50,000 employees, including the 6,100 pilots who walked out Friday night. The two sides are separated on issues of compensation and job security.
``I can't believe this is even happening,'' said Carol Steinmetz, a flight attendant who has worked for the airline for 26 years. Steinmetz was in the air headed for Tokyo when the strike began. She made it back home Monday night on a United Airlines flight to Chicago and a Northwest-chartered flight to Minneapolis.
``Northwest had to spend big bucks on 300 flight attendants stuck in Japan for last-minute seats,'' she said. ``All this money they're wasting on this stuff they could have given to the employees and gone on with business and be the No. 1 airline they claim they want to be.''
Billie Davenport of Teamsters Local 2000, which represents the flight attendants, said the union -- one of six at Northwest with open contracts -- supports the pilots. ``They're fighting for all of labor,'' she said.
Steinmetz agreed.
``I'm behind the pilots 100 percent,'' she said. ``Right now I think all the groups are united. I just hope and pray this thing doesn't go on. I hope they get back to talking and get it over with.''
North Dakota's congressional delegation, meanwhile, asked President Clinton to halt the strike by ordering a 60-day cooling-off period.
``North Dakota is left high and dry. Our economy is devastated. Our people are terribly disadvantaged by this,'' said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.
Northwest is the nation's sixth-largest airline in terms of passengers carried annually and the fourth-largest in revenue. It carries nearly 150,000 passengers a day and 2.9 million pounds of cargo on 1,700 flights in North America, Europe, Asia and India.
Northwest has offered a four-year contract with a 3 percent raise on the date of signing and additional annual raises totaling 6 percent. Pilots are seeking a three-year contract with a 7 percent raise on the date of signing and additional annual raises totaling 7 percent.
Northwest says its last offer would raise average pilot pay to $150,000, which the pilots say is inflated.Post your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web