BY JEFF JONES
MINNEAPOLIS - The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA)
announced victory in its 15-day strike against Northwest Airlines
(NWA). ALPA's 17-member Master Executive Council for Northwest
voted unanimously September 12 to approve the terms of the
tentative agreement reached two days earlier. Their win has given
encouragement to flight attendants, ramp workers, mechanics, and
other workers also fighting for new contracts with the airline.
President William Clinton sent Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater and White House deputy counsel Bruce Lindsey to oversee the negotiations leading up to the agreement, but did not do as politicians in several Midwest states had urged and use the Railway Labor Act to end the strike and impose a 60-day Presidential Emergency Board to propose an agreement. Last year, Clinton invoked powers under the Railway Labor Act to halt a strike by pilots at American Airlines within minutes. ALPA's chief negotiator Steve Wilson noted that if they can count on the president to intervene and appoint a government board to recommend a settlement, airline executives avoid serious negotiations with union members.
According to ALPA officials, the pilots gained $156 million more in the new contract over the final offer of NWA before the strike deadline. The four-year contract includes 3 percent raises each year; retroactive pay in a lump sum equaling 3.5 percent of pay since Oct. 31, 1996; and a plan of profit sharing and stock options. Additionally, the contract includes a three- year phase out of the B-scale (lower pay for new pilots), a no- layoff clause, better benefits for pilots and spouses, and stronger guarantees against cancellation of vacations.
ALPA accepted NWA's demand for unlimited growth of regional jets flown by lower cost affiliate airlines on condition that an equal number of new planes would be added to Northwest's fleet. The pilots' union also approved NWA's alliance with Continental Airlines - which would allow the two companies to sell seats on each other's domestic routes - with language to maintain the current proportion of flights between the two airlines.
In addition to giving more ground to the pilots than they offered before the strike, the bosses at Northwest airlines suffered significant losses, estimated at $300 million, due to the strike. NWA announced September 11 that they expect a loss for the entire year of 1998, while their competitors say they will post large profits. Northwest's chief financial officer said that the strike and an earlier campaign of working to rule and refusing overtime by ground workers will cost NWA nearly $1 billion. The figure includes losses Northwest will incur over the next several months to restart flight operations and recover from lost bookings. NWA bosses had set aside $1 billion to fight the strike, as well as putting up its fleet of jets as collateral for another $2 billion in loans.
Other workers at Northwest have been watching the pilots' strike with interest. Many have demonstrated their solidarity. Some 27,000 cleaners, ramp workers, and mechanics organized by the International Association of Machinists (IAM); 11,000 flight attendants organized by the Teamsters; and three small unions are also in the middle of contract fights at Northwest.
Tracy Cartwright, a mechanic in Minneapolis, told the Militant, "The pilots got most of what they wanted though the company didn't give up everything. Hopefully this will be positive for the other groups.... Everything we've gone through leaves us bitter with the company. But the pilots' strike does show us that we can stick together."
"They definitely cracked the door open for all five groups to settle with the company," said Danny Campbell, secretary- treasurer of Teamsters Local 2000, which represents the 11,000 flight attendants at NWA. "The threat of another strike is one the company has to take seriously. This showed the company the public supports the workers. I hope they learned that."
Jeff Jones is a cleaner at Northwest and a member of IAM Local 1833.