Injunction blocks strike at Northwest
Ruling delays job action; judge urges attendants, airline to resume talks

By Associated Press, Boston Globe, 08/26/2006

NEW YORK -- A federal judge blocked Northwest Airlines flight attendants from going on strike yesterday, handing a victory to the airline just hours before a planned strike action that could have devastated the cash-strapped company.

US District Judge Victor Marrero said he will issue an injunction to allow time for him to examine the case. He said Northwest Airlines Corp. made a "persuasive case" that a delay in any strike was necessary so that the legal issues could be resolved.

He said that while the injury to flight attendants would be to delay their ability to strike, "far greater injuries exist to Northwest and the public by permitting the strike to commence at this point."

Northwest, already operating under bankruptcy protection, has said a strike could kill it.

The nation's fifth-largest airline, Northwest has about 7,300 active flight attendants. The workers are angry the company imposed 21 percent pay cuts, which they say amount to 40 percent when health insurance increases are added in, as well as work rules they had rejected.

Northwest has said it needs $195 million a year in savings from flight attendants, who have twice voted down tentative agreements. After the latest vote on July 31, Northwest imposed the pay cuts with the permission of a bankruptcy judge.

Marrero urged the parties to resume negotiations and said he will give them until Wednesday to tell him whether fruitful talks are possible. If not, he said, he will decide the case at a date that was hard to predict "given the complexity of this matter."

While the union has maintained that firing those who strike would be illegal, striking is illegal under the injunction. There were no apparent plans among union members to do so until the judge has decided the case.