Northwest Employees to Lose Jobs on Nov. 28

Northwest Airlines told about 25 ground crew employees at the Bismarck Municipal Airport that Nov. 28 will be their last day on the job, local union representative Bryan Dalzell said.

In an effort to reduce operating costs, the bankrupt airline is eliminating its ground crews at about 70 smaller airports across the country. Northwest will contract with private companies to fill those positions. Contract employees generally earn significantly less than those employed directly by Northwest. Northwest will retain its own staff at airports with 50 or more Northwest flights per week, Northwest spokesman Roman Blahoski said. There are 40 such airports, he said.

Northwest Airlines has told ground employees at all its North Dakota airports that they would be replaced, Dalzell said. That applies to airports in Bismarck, Minot, Grand Forks and Fargo.

Ground crews do a variety of jobs at the airport, including selling tickets, checking in customers, handling baggage, ensuring planes are within weight limits and are properly balanced, and de-icing aircraft. All Northwest ground employees at the Bismarck airport will be replaced except for the station manager, Blahoski said.

The Air Wisconsin company will take over the positions, Blahoski said. Air Wisconsin currently contracts with United Airlines for ground crew positions at Bismarck Municipal Airport.

"Customers will see no difference in service," Blahoski said. "It will be a seamless transition."

Current employees will have several options, according to a book issued by Northwest Airlines titled "Restructuring Q&A and Employee Support." They can be laid off, in which case they will be given a severance package worth two weeks pay for each year of service, with a cap of 20 weeks pay. They also could choose to take a position at another airport at which Northwest will retain staff. Those jobs will be given based on seniority, and an employee could take over the job of another employee with fewer years on the job. Employees 55 years or older can retire and collect their pension.

About a quarter of the ground crew in Bismarck are considering a position with Northwest at one of the airports not being outsourced, Dalzell said.

Others are unwilling to leave their homes or uproot their families.

"Pretty much the rest of us are going to accept layoff and look for something else,"he said.

Dalzell is 48 and has worked for Northwest Airlines for 27 years. Because his employment will end before he is eligible for retirement, his pension will be significantly reduced, he said. When he turns 55, he will get about $600 per month, he said.

Dalzell said he feels betrayed by the company's decision to outsource.

"We are very disappointed," he said. "A lot of employees have been there for many years. ... You're talking about people involved in the community, who are involved in charities. Now, suddenly we're on the other end."

Dalzell said he enjoys his job and loves the company. But he is angry at the executives running the business, whom he feels have little long-term commitment to Northwest.

"They look only at the next quarter," he said. "It's typical of the American corporation."

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union that represents Northwest ground crews, agreed to the layoffs last year, but outgoing union president Bobby De Pace said they had little choice. The union had to give up some jobs to save others, he said. De Pace lost his bid for re-election to the union presidency last month.

"If nothing else, it makes me feel good to tell our story," Dalzell said. "As a union steward, I feel responsible for everybody. These are people. These are faces. These are families."

(Reach reporter Zachary Franz at 250-8261 or [email protected].)

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