Northwest Flight Attendants Hungrier Than Ever for a New Contract

Northwest Airlines' flight attendants, working under terms imposed, are complaining that tough new work rules are keeping as many as 40% of those on duty from eating all day.

Attendants on Northwest's domestic flights now have only about an hour between the scheduled arrival of one flight and the scheduled departure of their next flight, says Rick Thornton, a spokesman for the Communications Workers of America-Association of Flight Attendants. But they have to stay on their arriving flight until all passengers get off, about 15 minutes typically. Then they have to be onboard their outbound flight 30 minutes prior to departure.

That doesn't leave enough time to switch planes and eat, he says. Under the old contract, attendants who didn't have at least 90 minutes on the ground between flights got free in-flight meals. Like several rivals, Northwest stopped providing meals to domestic attendants.

"It is becoming a bigger issue every day as more and more attendants have to deal with it," Thornton says.

Attendants stopping for food between flights delayed 11 flights in September, out of 40,000, Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch says. Management is working with the attendants "on adjusting to this and other contract changes," he says.

Northwest, which entered Chapter 11 in September 2005, got court approval this summer to impose new terms on its attendants and did so on Aug. 1 after attendants, for the second time, rejected a tentative work agreement. Both tentative agreements would have cut the value of their members' pay and benefits by 40%, union leaders say. Both also would have saved the company $195 million a year.

Union leaders are urging the National Mediation Board to declare an impasse and to start a 30-day cooling-off period, after which the attendants would be free to strike if no deal is reached.

The parties are scheduled to launch a new round of mediated talks on Monday. But Thornton, says a deal's not likely.

"We feel very strongly that we are at an impasse," he says. "Our members have turned down two concessionary contract proposals and authorized a strike by an 85% vote."

Management, he adds, has no incentive to negotiate less onerous concessions from the attendants because it has achieved its targeted $195 million a year in cost savings by imposing new terms and pay rates.

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