NWA managers training as F/A replacements
06-15-2005, 05:12 AM
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NWA managers training as F/A replacements
Last update: June 15, 2005 at 7:47 AM
Northwest Airlines debt downgraded; managers training as flight attendants
Liz Fedor, Star Tribune
June 15, 2005 NWA0615
Click to learn more...
The Northwest Airlines employee serving you a beverage on your next flight could be a manager, not a flight attendant.
The union representing flight attendants said Tuesday that managers are now doing training in the air to prepare to become replacement workers in the event of a strike.
The manager training, along with the recruiting of potential replacement workers and Northwest's repeated warnings that it might be forced to file for bankruptcy, are part of the airline's campaign to reach concessionary agreements with its big unions.
The Eagan-based airline got some validation Tuesday for its financial argument. Standard & Poor's, citing continuing financial losses, high labor costs and big debt obligations, lowered the credit rating on Northwest's debt.
The S&P downgrade "reinforces the need for Northwest to quickly achieve competitive labor contracts with its unions and to receive congressional approval to freeze and pay the company's pension obligations over a longer period of time than is allowed under current law," Northwest said in a statement.
Northwest is in mediated talks with the flight attendants, mechanics and ground workers and wants to cut its annual labor costs by $1.1 billion.
It wants to reduce flight attendant costs by $148 million. "We can't afford the concessions that they are asking us for," said Jeff Gardner, vice president of the Professional Flight Attendants Association (PFAA). Northwest flight attendants earn $25,000 to $50,000 per year.
Some Northwest managers began showing up to do flight attendant work last week, handling tasks assigned by lead flight attendants or pursers, said Peter Fiske, PFAA member at large.
In a message to members, the union said: "Allow them to work carts, sell snacks, pick up trash, answer call buttons, clean lavatories."
Fiske said managers from reservations and information services are among those being trained on Northwest flights.
Northwest also held an open house Monday in Detroit for flight attendant job applicants. Some PFAA members showed up for that event.
"We are doing everything possible to educate prospective employees as to what is going on," Fiske said. "For these people to be replacement workers, they'd have to cross a picket line in the event of a labor action."
Gardner said Northwest has taken a "hard-nosed approach" to negotiations with the mechanics union, and he wouldn't be surprised if Northwest management asked the National Mediation Board to quickly declare an impasse in its talks with the flight attendants.
Although management is proceeding with plans to use replacement workers, "Northwest flight attendants are not flinching," Fiske said. "They can only kick a dog in the teeth so many times."
Meanwhile, Northwest's board chairman, Gary Wilson, continues to sell Northwest stock. On Tuesday, Northwest reported that Wilson sold almost 200,000 more shares on Friday and Monday, with sale prices ranging from $5.30 to $6.36 per share.
In recent weeks, Wilson sold $15.1 million worth of Northwest stock, or about 59 percent of his holdings.
Northwest stock closed Tuesday at $5.34, down 24 cents or 4.3 percent.
Northwest Airlines debt downgraded; managers training as flight attendants
Liz Fedor, Star Tribune
June 15, 2005 NWA0615
Click to learn more...
The Northwest Airlines employee serving you a beverage on your next flight could be a manager, not a flight attendant.
The union representing flight attendants said Tuesday that managers are now doing training in the air to prepare to become replacement workers in the event of a strike.
The manager training, along with the recruiting of potential replacement workers and Northwest's repeated warnings that it might be forced to file for bankruptcy, are part of the airline's campaign to reach concessionary agreements with its big unions.
The Eagan-based airline got some validation Tuesday for its financial argument. Standard & Poor's, citing continuing financial losses, high labor costs and big debt obligations, lowered the credit rating on Northwest's debt.
The S&P downgrade "reinforces the need for Northwest to quickly achieve competitive labor contracts with its unions and to receive congressional approval to freeze and pay the company's pension obligations over a longer period of time than is allowed under current law," Northwest said in a statement.
Northwest is in mediated talks with the flight attendants, mechanics and ground workers and wants to cut its annual labor costs by $1.1 billion.
It wants to reduce flight attendant costs by $148 million. "We can't afford the concessions that they are asking us for," said Jeff Gardner, vice president of the Professional Flight Attendants Association (PFAA). Northwest flight attendants earn $25,000 to $50,000 per year.
Some Northwest managers began showing up to do flight attendant work last week, handling tasks assigned by lead flight attendants or pursers, said Peter Fiske, PFAA member at large.
In a message to members, the union said: "Allow them to work carts, sell snacks, pick up trash, answer call buttons, clean lavatories."
Fiske said managers from reservations and information services are among those being trained on Northwest flights.
Northwest also held an open house Monday in Detroit for flight attendant job applicants. Some PFAA members showed up for that event.
"We are doing everything possible to educate prospective employees as to what is going on," Fiske said. "For these people to be replacement workers, they'd have to cross a picket line in the event of a labor action."
Gardner said Northwest has taken a "hard-nosed approach" to negotiations with the mechanics union, and he wouldn't be surprised if Northwest management asked the National Mediation Board to quickly declare an impasse in its talks with the flight attendants.
Although management is proceeding with plans to use replacement workers, "Northwest flight attendants are not flinching," Fiske said. "They can only kick a dog in the teeth so many times."
Meanwhile, Northwest's board chairman, Gary Wilson, continues to sell Northwest stock. On Tuesday, Northwest reported that Wilson sold almost 200,000 more shares on Friday and Monday, with sale prices ranging from $5.30 to $6.36 per share.
In recent weeks, Wilson sold $15.1 million worth of Northwest stock, or about 59 percent of his holdings.
Northwest stock closed Tuesday at $5.34, down 24 cents or 4.3 percent.
