Presidential Board Hears Arguments from Northwest Airlines, Mechanics Union

Mar 20 2001 10:52 AM EST

 Mar. 20--PHILADELPHIA--The Presidential Emergency Board began hearing arguments from Northwest Airlines and its mechanics union Monday, with the union renewing its resolve to strike if the board's settlement proposal falls short of its standards.

The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association said it hopes the three-member board will propose a fair settlement for the union's 9,400 mechanics, cleaners and custodians. "If they do not, it is our intention to shut Northwest Airlines down on May 11," said Lee Seham, attorney for AMFA, standing in front of the union's negotiating team outside a conference room in Philadelphia.

A Northwest spokeswoman said a strike isn't a certainty in the process.

The emergency board is scheduled to submit a report by April 10. Northwest has said it will agree to the terms set by the board; AMFA has said its negotiating team will review the offer. A strike could be averted if Congress intervenes, said Northwest spokeswoman Kathy Peach. Both sides honored a news blackout on the ongoing sessions and declined to answer questions after Monday's presentations ended.

In the middle of this contract fray are the three veteran mediators who make up the board. Chairwoman Helen Witt said she's monitored the dispute through news articles and said that while the board's work is unusual in the airline industry, it's rather common in other industries such as railways.

"This is board No. 235" since the Railway Labor Act began, Witt said. "Our work here is not that unusual."

Witt and fellow board member Robert Harris both served on the last airline-related emergency board, which involved American Airlines and its pilots in 1997. Both Witt and Harris have chaired the National Mediation Board, which oversees airline-labor union relations. AMFA officials have complained about the mediation board's impartiality; Witt said that mechanics should trust the emergency board because of each members' extensive experience settling arbitration cases and serving on other emergency boards. "This is what we do," she said.

Arguments on both sides continue today, with AMFA set to present the details of its proposal. Northwest will take its turn Wednesday, and final arguments and rebuttals will take place Thursday.

Talks broke off on March 10 after AMFA rejected a last-minute contract offer from Northwest. The two sides reverted to contract positions they held in late January. Wages, pension benefits and especially retroactive pay remain the toughest issues, but AMFA negotiators made it clear they want specific language extending benefits to past Northwest retirees and better money for its group of cleaners.