NWA Attendants Reveal Deal's Terms

Northwest Airlines flight attendants would receive higher sick-leave pay and 600 "early out" severance packages under a tentative agreement that the attendants union negotiated with the airline.

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) released a summary of the agreement on Friday night. The labor deal will be submitted to the carrier's 8,200 flight attendants for a ratification vote.

Last year, the attendants rejected two deals meant to save the airline $195 million per year.

The third tentative agreement reached Thursday morning achieves the same level of savings. But union negotiators focused on addressing some of the scheduling, work rule and compensation issues that flight attendants have found most frustrating under the terms Northwest imposed on July 31.

For example, the new deal would return sick pay to a 100 percent rate on July 31. Now, attendants receive 75 percent of their pay when out sick.

A $182 million bankruptcy claim will be lost if the attendants fail to ratify the third agreement.

Northwest and the union have estimated that the claim could be worth up to $18,000 per flight attendant.

If the attendants approve the new labor deal, Northwest will grant the union the right to sell 40 percent of the claim before Northwest's exit from bankruptcy.

In addition, the union said it had secured the right to sell the remaining 60 percent of the claim under certain conditions. Those include bankruptcy court approval of the airline's plan of reorganization.

The agreement also includes the restoration of ground holding pay for attendants. Under current work terms, attendants do not get paid when they are on board a plane with passengers and the flight is delayed for a long period.

The union summary did not include a breakdown of pay scales for the attendants. In the coming days, the union leadership will be providing attendants with copies of the entire tentative agreement.

If approved, the contract would be in effect until at least Dec. 31, 2011.

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