DETROIT, Aug. 28 - Ten days into a strike against Northwest Airlines, signs of dissent are beginning to bubble up among mechanics' union members on picket lines at airports around the country.
In a union known for lively debate, some members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which struck Northwest on Aug. 20, are questioning the union leaders' decision to call a strike without a vote on the airline's final offer...
The airline's last offer to the union called for $176 million in wage and benefit cuts, including the elimination of 2,000 jobs. It also would have provided for six months' severance pay and medical coverage for those laid off.
"It's absolutely ridiculous. I can't believe they didn't let us vote on it," Jeff Doerr, who has been a mechanic at Northwest's hub in Minneapolis for 15 years, said last week.
"I have 31 years of my life invested in my job," said Richard S. Paterala, a lead technician at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. In an e-mail message, he said he was "furious" that he did not get to consider the airline's offer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/29/business/29air.html
click the link for the full article.
In a union known for lively debate, some members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which struck Northwest on Aug. 20, are questioning the union leaders' decision to call a strike without a vote on the airline's final offer...
The airline's last offer to the union called for $176 million in wage and benefit cuts, including the elimination of 2,000 jobs. It also would have provided for six months' severance pay and medical coverage for those laid off.
"It's absolutely ridiculous. I can't believe they didn't let us vote on it," Jeff Doerr, who has been a mechanic at Northwest's hub in Minneapolis for 15 years, said last week.
"I have 31 years of my life invested in my job," said Richard S. Paterala, a lead technician at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. In an e-mail message, he said he was "furious" that he did not get to consider the airline's offer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/29/business/29air.html
click the link for the full article.