Northwest Airlines Flight Attendants Begin Strike Preparations

Northwest Airlines Corp. flight attendants have begun strike preparations as they await a judge's ruling on whether they legally can walk off the job, a move the bankrupt airline says could put it out of business.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, in a Web site posting, asked members to sign a list committing to strike Northwest flights when told to do so by the union. Members also were asked to donate to a strike fund.

The attendants' union is preparing for a strike even after U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero on Aug. 25 temporarily blocked any walkout. The airline's 9,300 attendants want to strike to protest job, pay and benefit cuts imposed by Northwest.

"We must stand united in our struggle for a fair and equitable contract that reflects our vital role as safety and security professionals," the union said on its Web site.

Marrero has given no indication of when he will rule on the legality of a strike at the Eagan, Minnesota based airline, the fifth largest in the U.S., in coming days.

The union has said it will use random, unannounced work stoppages to pressure the airline. The strategy is called CHAOS, or Create Havoc Around Our System, and may target specific flights, certain cities or the whole Northwest system.

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