Striking in the air.... More USAToday.com

Judge dismisses flight attendant complaint against Northwest

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge threw out a complaint by flight attendants who said Northwest Airlines was improperly training their replacements in case they strike.

The Professional Flight Attendants Association union had claimed that Northwest was changing their contract and creating a security risk by training replacement workers who had not been promised a job.

The union said trainees usually are promised a job as long as they finish training. It wanted a temporary restraining order to stop the training, which began July 30.

U.S. District Court Judge David S. Doty ruled on Friday that the dispute was minor. Under federal labor law, that means it can be decided by an arbitrator.

"We are pleased that the federal district court agrees that this is a matter to be addressed under our collective bargaining agreement with the PFAA," Northwest said in a written statement. It said training of the flight attendants would continue.

Northwest began training the flight attendants out of fear that PFAA flight attendants would refuse to cross a mechanic picket line.

Northwest's mechanics can strike after 12:01 a.m. ET on Aug. 20 if they don't reach a deal with the airline. Talks are currently stalled.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.   Posted 8/3/2005 8:24 AM

Strike looks less likely at AA than at NWA:

 In a vote this week, flight attendants at American subsidiary American Eagle authorized union leaders to call for a strike if they can't reach a new deal with management. But despite the strike vote, at least one union official says a work stoppage is not imminent. "The strike vote was called to show that the flight attendants want a contract, so that doesn't necessarily mean they want to strike," Corey Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants union, tells the Abilene Reporter-News (free registration). And, since no strike date has been set, Caldwell says any possible strike would likely be at least "a few" months away. Still, attendants at American Eagle are frustrated. "We're basically tired of being complimented for our hard work," says Reggie Salas, the president of the American Eagle flight attendants' association. "We're not being compensated for it." Still, things at AA's American Eagle look much better than the current situation at Northwest. With relations already chilly with the company's management, mechanics there broke off contracts negotiations yesterday. That comes just about two weeks before an Aug. 20 strike date at Northwest, The Associated Press reports. Posted 9:45 a.m.