more paycuts and furloughs at NWA?
Northwest Airlines wants more concessions from pilots
By JULIE FORSTER/Knight Ridder Newspapers
ST. PAUL, Minn. — As fuel prices continue to rise, Northwest Airlines is urging its pilots to return to the negotiating table to discuss a new round of concessions, including reductions in wages, benefits and changes in work rules that could eliminate about 1,100 jobs.
Northwest Airlines striking mechanics Terry Steede, left, and Steve Leiter walk the picket line at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Mich., Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2005. (AP)
“They see an advantageous environment for getting their desires in bargaining, so they want to start as quickly as possible,” said Mark McClain, chairman of the executive council of the Air Line Pilots Association at Northwest. “But it takes two to bargain.”
The council planned to discuss its negotiating strategy in meetings Wednesday and Thursday in St. Paul.
(Northwest serves Omaha and its regional affiliate serves Lincoln. The regional affiliate’s labor agreements are separate from those of Northwest.)
Northwest is seeking annual cost savings of at least $1.1 billion from its labor groups as speculation intensifies about its filing for bankrupcy. Soaring fuel prices, low fares and pension liabilities are pushing the carrier toward bankruptcy.
The airline’s mechanics went on strike Aug. 19. The company is now negotiating new contracts with the flight attendants and ground workers in an attempt to win concessions.
The pilots’ union agreed last year to $265 million in annual cost cuts, and left the door open for more once other labor unions had reached agreement on their fair share. Now, Northwest is seeking to accelerate discussions with its pilots as it seeks about $320 million in additional cost cuts.
The company said in a statement that it appreciates the financial sacrifices made last December by pilots and management, but “it remains imperative” that the airline reaches new labor agreements with other unions and completes a second round of negotiations with pilots as soon as possible.
The Eagan, Minn. carrier has presented the union with a “wish list” for how to get to the cuts.
The pilots’ union is not in negotiations but has told its members that the wish list is an indication of what pilots can expect to see from Northwest when talks do resume. The executive council’s negotiating committee warned in a mailing sent out to its pilots last week that in reading through the list, “you will probably become annoyed and frustrated.”
The so-called road map includes reductions in base pay of 22.3 percent, on average, and increased flying, which could mean the loss of about 1,100 jobs. The union represents 5,200 active pilots and 500 others on furlough. Pilot pay ranges from $35,000 per year for first-year pilots to $209,000 for the most senior, although there are no first-year pilots on active status.
Whatever reductions the pilots take, they are insisting that management take commensurate cuts. “To me, in the interest of fairness and equity in this company, that is just a given,” McClain said.