NW wants to replace up to 75% of Int'l with foriegn nationals and yes they do want to do with flights to the USA and from the USA. Also they want to be able to have these flight attendants work flights within the US as part of their pattern of flying. If this were to happen anyone with about 16yrs or less would be gone!
Ok, that's what I thought. I called the Texas Workforce Commission to be sure--may be known under a different agency name in your state. It's the agency that administers Unemployment Compensation and provides work search services. There is one in every state mandated and funded under Federal law.
What I found out is that the Alien Labor Certification Act is still in force. (I worked for the predecessor to the TWC back in the 70's). This law states that before you can hire a foreigner to work for you
in the United States you have to certify to each state agency where the foreigner(s) would be working that there is currently no U.S. citizen or resident alien willing or able to do the job, or that the foreigner possesses some special skill or knowledge not available in the U.S.
The law is used most often when some company or university or research institution wants to bring in a highly specialized scientist or physician who has some expertise in a new technology or science. For instance, when I worked for the TWC in the 70's in Houston, we often had to process requests to bring in foreign doctors who had conducted some specialized research or treatment. These were often just to allow this person to work/teach in the U.S. for some limited time. It was rarely for permanent status for the person.
Regardless of what the bankruptcy court may rule, I think that NWA would have a hard time proving that there are no U.S. citizens or resident aliens willing or able to work flights to/from MSP and NRT. Beyond NRT, U.S. law would not apply. I doubt seriously that they would be allowed to hire FNs to work domestic flights, period.
Some of the highlights of the act...
1. In order to certify that there are no U.S. workers, the company must advertise in daily newspapers for workers of the type needed.
2. They can NOT put false requirements on the job. For instance, for someone to work domestic flights, you can not say "must speak/read/write Mandarin Chinese." "Must be able to lift 300 lbs. unassisted." "Must have Master's in Business Administration."
3. They can NOT offer below the prevailing
industry wage for the job. This part is a little tricky because there is such a wide disparity in starting wages depending upon whether or not it is mainline or regional. In some regionals, the starting wage for flight attendants is as low as $12-$13/hr. They might get away with that, but they could not advertise a starting wage of $5.50/hr. Well, even if they did, we all know that they would still get applicants at that wage. The point of the whole exercise would be to prove that there were no qualified applicants. And, there are other laws that prevent them from refusing the type of people they would get at that pay rate. B)
If the AFA allows NWA to get away with this with some well placed political donations, the AFA should be sued by every single member at every airline for DFR.
