NWA Pilots vote to authorize strike

[zulaya]

Will be interesting to see if this will be more than a bargaining chip...

From KARE11.com in Minneapolis...

The pilots union at Northwest Airlines Corp. said Tuesday that its members have authorized a strike if the carrier imposes its threatened pay-cut and work-rule changes.

More than 92 percent of pilots voted in favor of authorizing a strike, said Wade Blaufuss, spokesman for the Northwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association. He said more than 90 percent of Northwest's 4,851 eligible pilots voted.

Blaufus spoke by phone from New York, where the union leadership is meeting amid talks with the airline.

The vote authorizes union leaders to call a strike, but doesn't guarantee that they will. The union has said it wouldn't strike unless Northwest imposes pay-cut and work rule changes. Wednesday is the earliest that could happen. That's the day that New York bankruptcy judge Allan Gropper is set to rule on the airline's request to reject its union contracts with pilots and flight attendants.

Flight attendants have also threatened to strike, but their vote doesn't wrap up until March 6.

Northwest, the nation's fourth-largest carrier, filed for bankruptcy protection on Sept. 14. It has been seeking $1.4 billion in annual savings from workers.

~~~
The count was actually 4,413 votes were cast in favor of the strike out of an eligible 4,851, which puts the approval at 92.3%

Wow. That is an overwhelming majority. Usually you don't see numbers that high.

This is just the beginning. Be interesting to see what tomorrow's court appearance does to this situation.

 

[ducklite]

If they strike it will also make a mess of a lot of Continental's traffic, as they code share a fairly large percentage of flights.

Anne

 

[DaveO]

Well ... let them strike with the FAs .... NW will go under and they will all lose thier jobs. I am willing to bet it will be hard to find new ones at the high salaries they now get from when the airlines were doing so well pre 9/11.

Dave O.

 

[westjones]

We are flying on NWA in 3 1/2 weeks, so I am worried! If they go on strike, do other airlines honor your tickets? Or can you get a refund (we could drive if we had too, it wouldn't be a big deal for us to change our plans, but I would want my money back!).

Has anyone gone through something like this before?

Thanks,
DJ

 

[ducklite]

Other carriers will honor your tickets on a space available basis. They won't bump their pasengers, and they generally will fly you standby only. If you've got a large group you might need to be willing to break up onto a couple different flights. I believe they can charge $25 per ticket to accomodate you.

Anne

 

[hemispheredancer]

If you choose to drive, call your CC company and dispute it with them. I had this happen with ProAir several years ago. They went kaputz and I had 4 tickets for travel in less than a week's time. I called Spirit to book with them. Then I called AmEx and got the ball rolling for a refund. The other 2 were bought with my MC debit card. I called the bank and faxed in my itinerary and with 2 weeks I had 4 tickets COMPLETELY refunded.

 

[CarolA]

Other carriers will honor your tickets on a space available basis. They won't bump their pasengers, and they generally will fly you standby only. If you've got a large group you might need to be willing to break up onto a couple different flights. I believe they can charge $25 per ticket to accomodate you.

Anne

Anne, I think this only applies for an airline who ceases flying due to bankruptcy closure.

I think with a strike you have to be written over to the other airline by your ticketed airline. However, in NW's case.... I am afraid the strike will be followed within a few days by closure once and for all.

I really thought the pilots had more sense then this, but...... the best thing from my point of view is that if they strike and NW closes that should shake up the union and DL pilots so common sense will break out over there.

Also, you cannot dispute with your CC until the strike occurs. So you can't decide to drive to day and dispute the charge. Right now NW is still flying.

NW has said that they will ask the judges to rule that the "railroad" law which requires 30 days notice applies here. Also, the union has not called a strike, I bet they want the FAs to go along.

I hope these pilots are in better finanical shape then the average American (and I bet a LOT of them arent'... pilots as a general rules like expensive toys!) They are going to need an emergency fund. There aren't a lot of flying jobs out there and those that are out there are with budget lines like SW, lower salaries and reduced benefits....

 

[Secondgradememories]

We are flying on NWA in 3 1/2 weeks, so I am worried! If they go on strike, do other airlines honor your tickets? Or can you get a refund (we could drive if we had too, it wouldn't be a big deal for us to change our plans, but I would want my money back!).

Has anyone gone through something like this before?

Thanks,
DJ

So are we! Good luck! Driving for us is out of the question - it would eat up too much of our trip. This wait and see thing is so unnerving! Keep me posted on what you decide to do! I think we'll all be scrambling in a few hours....

 

[deltachi8]

its negotiating...trying to get leverage in the room. I would not worry too much yet.

 

[rifgirlsmom]

We are due 2 fly out friday 3-3 am & retrn 3-7 afternoon.
Not sure what will do. At this point wait & see. Dont think will attmpt it if they do strike, too little time 2 mess around tring to rebook dif airline


rifgirlsmo

 

[westjones]

After thinking this over this afternoon, I would rather drive than try to figure this out with another airline.

We paid for our tickets with our Disney Visa. If NWA goes on strike and doesn't fly, will my credit card company credit back what I paid for the tickets?

I would rather do that. Then I know we are all together and we will get there on time (we are going on the Disney Cruise, so we HAVE to be at the port on time). If we get to Florida and THEN they go out on strike, I have more flexibility about when we fly back. But I have to be there before the Disney Wonder sets sail!


DJ

 

[ducklite]

You won't be able to get your money back until you show up at the airport and they can't put you on a flight.

Didn't notice where you are from, would it be possible to buy one way fully refundable SW tickets to make sure you get there, and ask for a refund if you dont need them? (Not sure what the policy on how long before the flight you need to cancel...)

Anne

 

[zulaya]

Anne - SWA doesn't fly to MSP...otherwise that would be an option for travelers up here.

 

[ducklite]

Anne - SWA doesn't fly to MSP...otherwise that would be an option for travelers up here.

Too bad. Sorry, it was jsut a suggestion, but I guess it won't work...

Anne

 

[Rock'n Robin]

See the other thread about the Flight Attendants reaching an agreement. Makes things harder for the pilots, I would imagine. Hope it works out for everyone...I have 4 months to stew about it.
Robin M.

 

[CarolA]

Robin,
I agree, the pilots had been assuming that the FAs would go along. I read some reports of pilot rallys on www.flyertalk.com and there were things said like "the FAs are in lock step with us" etc..

I think this proves one thing... as a general rule FAs have more common sense. (Now considering most FAs are women and most pilots are men......)

 

[ratfam]

Fellow nervous Minnesotans with spring break Orlando tickets on NWA, I posted this just not on another thread but if you are going to book back up you might want to check air trans. I just read some negative things about them changing flight times here, but its not like we have a lot of options. We were lucky, our NWA tickets are frequent flyer so we aren't out money and decided to book another set last night as a backup. We actually got what I think was a pretty decent fare but not our choice of travel times (which were available until just when we decided to buy last night and then there was some kind of buying frenzy, everything was going unavailable). So depending on when you are traveling they seem to have availability but not at the cheapest prices any more. Now we're watching and waiting. Wish we had more choices at MSP.

 

[Secondgradememories]

NWA, Pilots Reach Tentative Agreement
from wcco.com

(AP) Minneapolis Pilots reached a tentative pay-cut deal with Northwest Airlines Corp. on Friday, a major step toward ending a showdown that put the bankrupt airline's future in doubt.

The Northwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association announced the agreement but didn't release details. The airline said it got the $358 million in savings it sought.

The deal would still have to be approved by the union's leadership and members. The union said its leaders would meet Friday night to consider the agreement.

Pilots were the last Northwest union without a deal.

"The tentative agreement is a painful but necessary part of a successful restructuring of Northwest Airlines," said Mark McClain, head of the Northwest branch of ALPA. "If all of us can distance ourselves from these recent labor struggles and focus on ensuring the future success of Northwest we can begin looking forward to our emergence from bankruptcy as a proud and profitable airline."

If its unions all approve their agreements, it will have reduced its labor costs by $1.4 billion since late 2004, when pilots first took a 15 percent pay cut. Northwest said it has also cut wages of salaried and management employees twice. It said it's trying to cut a total of $2.5 billion in annual costs "in order to return the company to profitability on a sustained basis."


Wahoo!!!! Thanks for all of the support as we waited everyone! -Here's hoping the vote goes through! I can't imagine it won't.

 

[ratfam]

Great news! Thanks for the update.

 

[westjones]

I am SO glad to hear this!
DJ