Bush May Keep Airline Mechanics on Job
Hours after the National Mediation Board released Northwest Airlines and its mechanics union from negotiations Friday, President Bush vowed to extend the cooling-off period by another 60 days if a contract agreement is not met.
The board’s release would have allowed mechanics to go on strike as early as midnight March 12, but Bush’s extension would keep them on the job through mid-May.
“If this dispute is not settled in 30 days, the president will accept the recommendation of the National Mediation Board to create a presidential emergency board,” White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said in a statement. “The president is concerned about an airline strike that could threaten the economy.”
Northwest spokesman Jon Austin said the Eagan, Minn.-based airline would continue to fly its full schedule through the negotiations.
“We will be working diligently during this period to reach agreement on a new contract,” he said.
Steve MacFarlane, president of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. Local 33, said members went from elation to disappointment when they learned that they would not be able to legally walk off the job in 30 days.
“The way we feel about it is that this is tantamount to being a slave,” MacFarlane said. “We have been told that you cannot walk off the job to show your displeasure with your working conditions. It’s a devastating occurrence, and we can’t think of anything that would have been worse news for our membership.”
Talks between Northwest Airlines and its mechanics union ended Friday with a proposal on the table from the company and the union arguing for a contract far beyond that offer.
The latest round of talks began Monday in Washington, D.C., with Northwest and AMFA still between $2 billion and $2.5 billion apart on the increased costs of a new deal to the airline over three years.
Northwest earned $256 million in 2000 and spent $650 million on costs related to its nearly 10,000 mechanics, cleaners and custodians, who represent about 20% of Northwest’s work force.
Neither side was disclosing what progress had been made during talks this week, but a union leader indicated any settlement was weeks away--with or without a strike.
