Flight attendants’ rejection of a proposed Northwest Airlines labor contract is a bump in the road that raises the question of where the bankrupt airline goes next.
Soon after flight attendants voted by a 4-to-1 margin to reject a pay cut, Northwest asked for bankruptcy court permission to void the current contract. Northwest wants the court to allow it to impose a new contract.
The union representing the attendants warns it might strike if the contract is voided.
Newspaper reports say there are no immediate plans for a strike.
The attendants called management’s proposed contract “harsh and overreaching.” The wage cuts are part of an effort to save $1.4 billion in labor savings.
Report by David Wilkening
