Northwest Airlines workers strike
Mechanics, cleaners and janitors at US carrier Northwest Airlines walked off the job today after labour talks failed to produce a deal to help cut costs and avert possible bankruptcy.
The nationwide strike began at 12:01 a.m. today after five months of negotiations, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association said in a statement. The walkout at the fourth- biggest U.S. airline means the union’s 4,200 Northwest mechanics, aircraft cleaners and building custodians won’t report for work today, leaving the jobs to be done by replacement staff.
``Our members would rather see Northwest go into bankruptcy than give in to the terms asked of them,’’ spokesman Jim Young said after talks ended yesterday just before a midnight strike deadline in Washington. The walkout is the first at a major U.S. carrier in seven years.
The strike threatens to disrupt about 1,400 daily flights through Northwest’s three biggest airport bases in Detroit, Minneapolis and Memphis, Tennessee. A plan to keep planes flying may cost the airline more than $100 million. St. Paul, Minnesota- based Northwest trained several thousand replacement workers in anticipation of a strike.
"We’re operating our schedule on time," said Andy Roberts, executive vice president of operations at Northwest, in a teleconference. "Our operation is going to run extremely well over the next few weeks and our customers should continue to travel and book with confidence."
The company’s other workers were also on the job, executives said.
The union had threatened to go on strike if management didn’t back off its demands by the time a 30-day cooling-off period expired at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines had all along planned to operate its normal schedule despite its failure to reach a deal at the negotiating table.
"Northwest customers can continue to depend on Northwest for their travel needs," said Chief Executive Doug Steenland. "We intend to operate our normal schedule of domestic and international flights."
