They need support. How about showing up with some food and drinks and walking the line with them today.
NWA Mechanics Strike
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(WCCO) After failed negotiations, Northwest mechanics are walking the picket line while the airline pledged to keep flying.
Mechanics from the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association began striking at 11:01 p.m. central time Friday. Northwest was seeking $1.1 billion worth of annual labor savings and wanted $176 million from its mechanics.
The mechanics said the wages would be comparable to the 1980's. Both sides never met face-to-face Friday.
The airline lined up 1,200 temporary workers to replace the strikers. They also shifted Northwest mechanics' schedules so most workers would not be on the clock when the strike began.
As the many workers clocked out at 8 p.m., their security badges were confiscated and they were escorted away by security.
The mechanics began an informational strike in the middle of the evening, which turned into a full strike as the deadline passed without a deal.
The airline said it gave mechanics its best offer Thursday night.
Representatives for the mechanics' union spent Thursday night and some of Friday analyzing the offer, but in the end they said they were too far apart.
The airline said its offer consisted of $176 million in concessions from the union. It also had a 25 percent decrease in pay and eliminated all the cleaner jobs.
Northwest wanted to outsource more labor, but the mechanics union said it wanted to protect all jobs.
Despite the strike, Northwest pledged to keep its planes in the air. Mechanics, however, expected flights to be canceled and delayed.
In a note to investors, Bear Stearns analyst David Strine said he believes the airline's strike plan will work.
"We think management can pull it off," he wrote in the note.
He said Northwest could survive next year if a few things work out in its favor: The airline will either make a deal with mechanics or replace them. Flight attendants would probably make a deal then, too, he wrote. And if Congress grants pension law changes and Northwest can refinance some of its debt, it could halt its cash burn, Strine wrote.
But if Northwest doesn't get pension relief or fails to refinance its debt, he predicted its financial situation would "deteriorate substantially" in 2007.
Shares of Northwest's stock surged nearly 10 percent Thursday, on word a Connecticut investor bought six percent of the airline. An analyst also upgraded the airline on Thursday as well. The stock dipped back down 10 percent by the closing bell Friday.
Northwest Airlines is the nation's fourth-largest airline.
NWA Mechanics Strike
Save It Email It Print It
(WCCO) After failed negotiations, Northwest mechanics are walking the picket line while the airline pledged to keep flying.
Mechanics from the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association began striking at 11:01 p.m. central time Friday. Northwest was seeking $1.1 billion worth of annual labor savings and wanted $176 million from its mechanics.
The mechanics said the wages would be comparable to the 1980's. Both sides never met face-to-face Friday.
The airline lined up 1,200 temporary workers to replace the strikers. They also shifted Northwest mechanics' schedules so most workers would not be on the clock when the strike began.
As the many workers clocked out at 8 p.m., their security badges were confiscated and they were escorted away by security.
The mechanics began an informational strike in the middle of the evening, which turned into a full strike as the deadline passed without a deal.
The airline said it gave mechanics its best offer Thursday night.
Representatives for the mechanics' union spent Thursday night and some of Friday analyzing the offer, but in the end they said they were too far apart.
The airline said its offer consisted of $176 million in concessions from the union. It also had a 25 percent decrease in pay and eliminated all the cleaner jobs.
Northwest wanted to outsource more labor, but the mechanics union said it wanted to protect all jobs.
Despite the strike, Northwest pledged to keep its planes in the air. Mechanics, however, expected flights to be canceled and delayed.
In a note to investors, Bear Stearns analyst David Strine said he believes the airline's strike plan will work.
"We think management can pull it off," he wrote in the note.
He said Northwest could survive next year if a few things work out in its favor: The airline will either make a deal with mechanics or replace them. Flight attendants would probably make a deal then, too, he wrote. And if Congress grants pension law changes and Northwest can refinance some of its debt, it could halt its cash burn, Strine wrote.
But if Northwest doesn't get pension relief or fails to refinance its debt, he predicted its financial situation would "deteriorate substantially" in 2007.
Shares of Northwest's stock surged nearly 10 percent Thursday, on word a Connecticut investor bought six percent of the airline. An analyst also upgraded the airline on Thursday as well. The stock dipped back down 10 percent by the closing bell Friday.
Northwest Airlines is the nation's fourth-largest airline.
