MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - As Mesaba Airlines argues with its unions over proposed pay cuts before a bankruptcy judge, a growing number of the regional carrier's employees are leaving rather than see their pay slashed.

Mesaba wants to cut its labor costs by 19.4 percent. If the airline and its unions don't reach new labor agreements by May 11, a bankruptcy judge could allow the carrier to impose pay rates.

The airline wants to lock union employees into six-year concessionary contracts.

"Bankruptcy used to be a tragedy. Now it's just a business tool," said Trevor Reiten, 38, of Andover, who recently resigned his job as a Mesaba mechanic to work at the Federal Cartridge ammunition factory in Anoka.

According to the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, 33 technicians - 13 percent - have resigned since Mesaba filed for bankruptcy in October.

"Nobody has a problem quitting Mesaba right now," said Nathan Winch, a Mesaba AMFA airline representative from the Twin Cities. The only regrets come from employees "leaving their work family."

Shortly before the bankruptcy, there were 254 Mesaba AMFA employees, including 106 in the Twin Cities, Winch said.

The Air Line Pilots Association says 19 Mesaba pilots resigned from mid-March to early September in 2005. But 43 pilots quit between last September and mid-March of this year. In the past six weeks, at least 18 pilots resigned, a union official told the Star Tribune.

Some veteran flight attendants also are bailing out, said Carla Rogat, vice president of the Mesaba branch of the Association of Flight Attendants.

The union's secretary-treasurer left Mesaba to work at Home Depot.

"He was just tired of it all. He could make more money there," Rogat said. "People just don't want to work for this management team anymore. They just don't trust them."

Mesaba has 3,531 employees now, down about 8 percent from 3,823 in September before the bankruptcy filing. The airline has furloughed 219 employees since October.

Elizabeth Costello, a Mesaba spokeswoman, wouldn't say how many employees have resigned but acknowledged that the carrier "has experienced an expected level of attrition among its employees since its bankruptcy."

"We recognize that employees must make decisions in the best interest of their families and careers," Costello said. "Management must make decisions in the best interest of the company to ensure its survival."

Mesaba had 100 planes when it filed for bankruptcy. Its new business plan includes a fleet of only 49 Saabs, with many pilots likely to be downgraded to co-pilot status.

Mesaba operates regional flights for Northwest Airlines, which also is in bankruptcy. In North Dakota, Mesaba provides the only commercial airline service to Devils Lake and Jamestown. It also serves Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks.