A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an injunction barring a strike by flight attendants at bankrupt Northwest Airlines Corp.
The flight attendants had sought the right to strike after Northwest, with a bankruptcy judge's permission, imposed pay cuts and other work rule changes as it reorganized. Its other unions made pay-cut deals, but flight attendants rejected a negotiated agreement. The case put the union and the airline in a gray area where bankruptcy law and airline labor law intersect.
All three judges on the appeals panel agreed with the result, although Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote a separate concurring opinion.
There's another way flight attendants could still win the right to strike. They have asked to be released from mediated talks with Northwest. A release by the National Mediation Board would start a potential strike process under airline labor law, outside of the bankruptcy issues at the heart of the case decided Thursday.
The flight attendants had sought the right to strike after Northwest, with a bankruptcy judge's permission, imposed pay cuts and other work rule changes as it reorganized. Its other unions made pay-cut deals, but flight attendants rejected a negotiated agreement. The case put the union and the airline in a gray area where bankruptcy law and airline labor law intersect.
All three judges on the appeals panel agreed with the result, although Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote a separate concurring opinion.
There's another way flight attendants could still win the right to strike. They have asked to be released from mediated talks with Northwest. A release by the National Mediation Board would start a potential strike process under airline labor law, outside of the bankruptcy issues at the heart of the case decided Thursday.