NWA, Flight Attendants to Report to Judge

A New York federal judge recommended last week that Northwest Airlines and its flight attendants return to the bargaining table. However, the two sides have not heeded the judge's advice, and it's still unclear how the parties can craft a deal that attendants will ratify.

The two sides have not negotiated since flight attendants rejected a deal on July 31.

Both parties will report their lack of progress today to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero, who issued a temporary injunction Friday that blocked Northwest attendants from conducting scattered strikes that could have begun just hours later.

Both sides continue to state publicly that they hope to reach a negotiated settlement.

Northwest is demanding concessions of $195 million, which it described as a "required" figure for flight attendant savings. Many attendants say that's excessive.

The National Mediation Board is talking with both sides, and neither Northwest nor the union has called for bringing in any new players to help them forge a deal.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., who helped Northwest restructure its finances in the early 1990s, appears to be concerned. "There's an undercurrent throughout this whole negotiation of bad feelings," Oberstar said, because of Northwest's "heavy-handed" approach toward union workers, instead of asking for shared sacrifices.

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