Comments on: Northwest Strike to Reshape Labor Relations

By: Herb

Herb — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 11:48:32 +0000

While Northwest management is enjoying their success so far, I would exercise more caution before I would say it is a complete success. The Northwest fleet is old and their aircraft require more maintenance than do newer aircraft. I think that it's going to take several days before anyone knows that the strike is or is not successful for either side.

While I have some sympathy for the airline as well as the mechanics, I can tell you that both sides are most likely to blame for this strike. On the one hand, the mechanics are nothing more than dupes of the union, management has obviously had itself in a union busting mode for the past fourteen months.

It seem to me that the answer to end this strike lies with both the union and management to make the necessary changes in their operations and methods to settle things peacefully.

My fear is that as time goes on, poor maintenance practices will catch up and something bad will happen. No matter who you side with, aircraft maintenance is not just a matter for a bunch of part time mechanics or has been to be performing.

I have always admired the philosophy of Adolf Coors of Coors Brewery, That Unions are a result of Bad Management

By: Jim Rhoads (vnjagvet)

Jim Rhoads (vnjagvet) — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 03:42:14 +0000

AMFA failed to come close to assessing accurately their bargaining power in this dispute. In the last analysis, bargaining power is the only real weapon a union has.

Often a company can not adequately replace a striking work force. Like the railroads before them, the airlines have come to grips with technological change. The unions have not. Hence a bad miscalculation. Northwest will see this through because it must do so to survive. The handwriting is on the wall.

By: bryan

bryan — Mon, 22 Aug 2005 00:09:12 +0000

With the industry in dire condition, the balance of power appears to be shifting away from organized labor to airline executives.

Because we know *they* always have the right ideas (/snark)

Seriously, these are the same people who have looked askance at Herb Kelleher from Southwest for the past two decades and driven many carriers into the ground (cough, United, cough, Delta soon, cough).

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 20:02:16 +0000

Well, if the nose collapsed on a Friday and the strike did not happen until Saturday, I would say it was irrelevant to the strike. Unless you want to argue that the union's mechanics screwed it all up.

Then again, I am not sure if the strike was on at the time in Guam (with the different time zones and all), so I cannot say for sure.

By: Richard Gardner

Richard Gardner — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 17:24:17 +0000

The line from the article that got me was , "The union said the airline wanted to slice the mechanics workforce in half by using more outside contractors and to cut the pay of remaining workers by 25 percent." Perhaps just union scare tactics, but a 25% pay cut is rather significant.

I wonder why the collapsed Northwest 747 nose wheel in Guam wasn't mentioned? Great pictures here - http://www.luchtzak.be/article9788.html Article here (and another picture) http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050822/NEWS01/508220306/1002