Sep 09, 2005 - 07:01:23 CDT
MINNEAPOLIS - Northwest Airlines and its mechanics union got together for talks Thursday, but several strikers on the picket lines here scoffed at the airline's latest offer.The airline was demanding even steeper cuts than the ones that prompted mechanics to walk out. The airline said rising fuel prices have forced it to ask for even more labor savings.
"I hope they go into bankruptcy - I've got nothing to lose," said Dave Kowalkowski, a mechanic who has worked for the airline for 26 years. "I'd rather deal with a bankruptcy judge."
David Benedict, who worked as a mechanic for 18 years in Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Atlanta, said he thought the meetings Thursday were just another step toward bankruptcy.
"They're negotiating again, just so they can go to a bankruptcy judge and say, 'We made them a final offer.' So they can save face."
Negotiators for both sides were seen at the hotel in downtown Minneapolis where talks were scheduled to resume at noon, but neither side talked with reporters gathered there.
The strike reached its 20th day on Thursday, and several of the off-the-job mechanics have already started looking for their next job.
David Pounds, a 22-year mechanic, said he was thinking of changing careers, maybe selling cars. He's had job interviews, but hasn't had any offers.
"People are reluctant to hire a guy on strike," he said.
Also, he has had trouble finding a job where the pay matches what he made as a mechanic. Union mechanics made $70,000 a year on average. "The last company I interviewed with, the compensation was a joke," Pounds said.
Northwest's 4,427 mechanics, cleaners and custodians walked out on Aug. 20 rather than accept 25 percent pay cuts and layoffs of some 2,000 workers. The airline has told the union that it would begin hiring permanent replacements by Sept. 13 if they didn't make a deal.
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