Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWACQ.PK) goes to court to attempt a last minute block fo the strike flight attendants have threatened to carry out. After the ruling last week by bankruptcy Judge Allan L. Gropper in favor of the attendants, stating that he had no jurisdiction, Northwest appealed.
Judge Victor Marrero will decide whether there is any legal right for the attendants to go forward with the strike. Northwest had the Justice Department on their side as they ask Marrero to block the strike as well, saying the work stoppage would cripple the air transportation system. They claim that the strike will violate the Railway Labor Act, which requires that both side of an airline dispute negotiate until a mediator determines that further talks will be fruitless, according to this WashingtonPost.com article.
If a strike occurs, Northwest said it has arranged to use certified, stand-in workers to maintain operations. The airline's appromixmately 9,000 attendants plan to begin a series of sporadic, unannounced work stoppages at 10:01 p.m. in response to proposed wage and benefits cuts of $195 million. The airline has said it needs the savings to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
"We'll take all the necessary actions to protect our company, and contingency plans are in place," Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said.
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