NWA to Continue Labor Talks Thursday

Northwest Airlines Corp. and its flight attendants planned to continue talks on Thursday aimed at making a deal.

A federal mediator met with both sides on Wednesday in Washington.

Northwest already imposed pay cuts and work rule changes on flight attendants on July 31. A bankruptcy judge gave it permission to do that after flight attendants twice rejected negotiated deals.

A judge blocked random, unannounced strikes planned by flight attendants, but the airline has said it would be willing to negotiate a deal that flight attendants could agree to.

The Association of Flight Attendants had asked the mediator to declare the talks at an impasse and start a 30-day cooling-off period that could end with a strike.

Northwest, the nation's fifth-largest airline, is reorganizing under bankruptcy protection and has new contracts in place with its other workers.

Meanwhile, the flight attendants have filed a notice that they will appeal the judge's ruling blocking a strike.

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