Associated Press
Northwest Airlines' employee Lee Sexton is
all smiles yesterday at Detroit Metropolitan Airport
as she informs a co-worker about the tentative pact.
Northwest awaits
pilots’ OK
of deal
The tentative agreement
From staff and wire reports
reached yesterday could return
the airline to full service
in 10 to 12 daysMINNEAPOLIS -- With the White House and federal mediators twisting arms, Northwest Airlines Corp. and its striking pilots broke a nearly two-week stalemate and announced a potential settlement.
A tentative deal was announced yesterday afternoon, the 13th day of the walkout. But the airline will remain grounded at least until the Air Line Pilots Association's 17-member executive board meets tomorrow to consider the plan.
At a pilots' union information office near Honolulu Airport, about a dozen union representatives were fielding telephone calls and trying to get more information yesterday.
"Right now we're waiting for details," said Greg Baltmiskis, a DC-10 copilot. "The union representatives are going back for a meeting Saturday in Minneapolis" to vote on the proposal, he said.
"Besides the contract proposal, there has to be a back-to-work agreement signed, with details about where and when we go back," Baltmiskis said.
Nani Mahoe, Hawaii district sales director for the airline, said it will take a few days to get running again after the union accepts a new contract.
"The first thing we need to do is make sure everything is in absolutely perfect working condition," she said, referring to the six Northwest aircraft that have been parked at Honolulu Airport through the strike and the rest of the company's equipment.
"We could be up and running as soon as four or five days but that would not be systemwide and some areas would be running quicker than others," Mahoe said.
In Hawaii, the strike led to the layoff of more than 700 local Northwest employees and about 110 employees of Dobbs International Services. Inc., a flight catering business. There are 397 striking Northwest pilots based in Hawaii.
Northwest's Hawaii service normally consists of five Honolulu-mainland round trips and four Honolulu-Japan round trips, accounting for about 20,000 Honolulu passengers a week.
As the strike went on, Northwest was able to find flights for most of its Honolulu passengers but Hawaii-Japan seats were hard to find and some passengers on that service are having to wait a couple of days, Mahoe said.
She said the airline will be doing some promotion to get its customers back once the strike ends. "I hope we are able to communicate our message that we're sorry about what happened and we'd like you to give us another chance," Mahoe said.
Frank Thomas, Honolulu Airport general manager at United Airlines, said United's flights to and from Japan have been very heavily booked but overall the overflow from Northwest has been handled.
Hawaiian Airlines took the opportunity of the possible settlement to issue a statement reminding travelers that while Northwest works to get back in the air, it is accepting Northwest tickets on its Hawaii-West Coast flights for no extra charge. Hawaiian has six Honolulu-West Coast flights a day -- three to Los Angeles and one each to San Francisco, Seattle and Portland.
When it meets tomorrow, the ALPA executive board may either vote on the proposal or submit it to a full membership vote by the 6,100 pilots. No details were released, but a source familiar with the talks reported the outline of a four-year deal.
Pilots would receive a 12 percent salary increase over the life of the contract, the source said. Pilots had sought 14 percent over three years, with Northwest offering 9 percent over four years.
Northwest would eliminate a lower pay scale for new hires by the end of the contract, one of the most important issues for pilots, the source said. The pilots also won some increased assurance of job security.
Meanwhile, Air Canada and its pilots also reached a tentative agreement yesterday to end a nine-day strike. Ratification of the agreement by the 2,100 Air Canada pilots is expected to take about three days. Canada's largest carrier said its 500 daily flights are expected to resume Wednesday or Thursday. The airline has two weekly Hawaii flights that have been canceled because of the strike.
Northwest spokeswoman Marta Laughlin said it would take 10 to 12 days to bring the airline back to full service. Northwest has canceled all domestic flights through Sunday and Asian and European flights through Monday.
The pilots, who went on strike Aug. 28, had been negotiating for a new contract for two years. The average annual pay for Northwest pilots under the current contract is about $133,000, according to the airline; the union put the figure at $120,000.
The airline still faces open contracts with five other unions. The International Association of Machinists has asked the National Mediation Board to declare talks at an impasse so a 30-day strike countdown can begin.
"I think it's good that they settled, but it could be bad for our contract," said mechanic Dave Condon. "Northwest could say now that they've spent all this money and don't have any left for us."
Northwest, which is headquartered in Eagan, Minn., has canceled more than 27,000 flights. The airline has estimated its losses at $26 million per day for a total of at least $338 million.
The airline announced today it will report losses in the third and fourth quarter and for all of 1998 because of the strike and an expected lengthy recovery period.
The Associated Press and Star-Bulletin reporter
Russ Lynch contributed to this report.
