Freight Dog
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Midwest Express strike
Midwest Express Attendants Threaten Walkouts
Airline Takes Tough Stand
By KEVIN ORLAND
.c The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE (Aug. 30) - Midwest Express flight attendants will be locked out if they walk off their jobs, an airline attorney said Friday. The warning came after the attendant's union authorized a strike and contract talks broke down.
A union spokesman said no flight attendants had walked out as of Friday afternoon. The Oak Creek-based airline flies to 51 cities with its subsidiary, Skyway Airlines.
Carol Skornicka, senior vice president and general counsel for Midwest Express, said the airline has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, contending that the walkouts its flight attendants have threatened over their contract dispute are not protected under federal labor laws.
As a result, she said the airline may discipline any strikers through the lockouts.
``In a way, they have their cake and eat it, too,'' Skornicka said. ``They disrupt our business and cause us harm but don't lose their pay and benefits. When they try to come back, they can't come back.''
The Association of Flight Attendants authorized a strike after negotiations in Washington, D.C., failed to reach an agreement by a midnight Thursday deadline. The talks broke down early Friday.
Union spokesman Jeff Zack said the flight attendants planned to disrupt flights by walking off them before they depart and then returning to work later on another flight. The union calls the strategy CHAOS, for ``create havoc around our system.''
A 1993 federal court ruling in Seattle found that intermittent strikes in the airline industry were legal, he said.
``The fight has been fought,'' Zack said. ``At the end of the day, a strike will happen at Midwest Express despite this lawsuit.''
He said the union would find flights on other airlines for attendants who get locked out so that they can return home.
Midwest Express will rely on 50 managers to handle flight attendants' duties as needed, Skornicka said.
Zack said 50 flight attendants won't be able to cover its 35-plane fleet.
The average annual salary for a Midwest Express flight attendant is in the low $20,000 range and reaches $36,000 after 16 years of service.
Skornicka said the airline had agreed to changes in scheduling and per diem expenses that would result in 5 percent to 6 percent increases in take-home pay.
She said the union had asked for a 9.5 percent raise that would take effect immediately, and 3 percent raises on the first and second anniversary of the contract.
Union officials said Midwest Express flight attendants haven't had a pay raise in the three years they have been unionized and called the company's contract proposal inadequate.
The flight attendants voted to form a union in April 1999 and started negotiating their first contract with Midwest Express in early 2000.
08/30/02 17:26 EDT
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Taken from Midwest Express' website
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AFA Negotiations Update
Midwest Express has been unable to come to a contract agreement with the Association of Flight Attendants by the end of the cooling-off period mandated by the National Mediation Board. Midwest Express will do everything the law allows to ensure customers are not inconvenienced. We have developed a number of contingency plans and are fully prepared to take the action necessary to deliver safe, uninterrupted service for Midwest Express passengers.
Passengers holding tickets on upcoming flights should plan to travel on the ticketed dates. If a passenger’s flight is impacted by flight attendant work action, the airline will secure replacement crew members or reaccommodate customers as necessary on other flights or other airlines. We advise you to travel on your itinerary as planned.
Please note that Skyway Airlines, the Midwest Express Connection (flight range 1000-2500) is not affected and will operate its flights as scheduled.
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Things that make you go hmmmm.....
Midwest Express Attendants Threaten Walkouts
Airline Takes Tough Stand
By KEVIN ORLAND
.c The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE (Aug. 30) - Midwest Express flight attendants will be locked out if they walk off their jobs, an airline attorney said Friday. The warning came after the attendant's union authorized a strike and contract talks broke down.
A union spokesman said no flight attendants had walked out as of Friday afternoon. The Oak Creek-based airline flies to 51 cities with its subsidiary, Skyway Airlines.
Carol Skornicka, senior vice president and general counsel for Midwest Express, said the airline has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, contending that the walkouts its flight attendants have threatened over their contract dispute are not protected under federal labor laws.
As a result, she said the airline may discipline any strikers through the lockouts.
``In a way, they have their cake and eat it, too,'' Skornicka said. ``They disrupt our business and cause us harm but don't lose their pay and benefits. When they try to come back, they can't come back.''
The Association of Flight Attendants authorized a strike after negotiations in Washington, D.C., failed to reach an agreement by a midnight Thursday deadline. The talks broke down early Friday.
Union spokesman Jeff Zack said the flight attendants planned to disrupt flights by walking off them before they depart and then returning to work later on another flight. The union calls the strategy CHAOS, for ``create havoc around our system.''
A 1993 federal court ruling in Seattle found that intermittent strikes in the airline industry were legal, he said.
``The fight has been fought,'' Zack said. ``At the end of the day, a strike will happen at Midwest Express despite this lawsuit.''
He said the union would find flights on other airlines for attendants who get locked out so that they can return home.
Midwest Express will rely on 50 managers to handle flight attendants' duties as needed, Skornicka said.
Zack said 50 flight attendants won't be able to cover its 35-plane fleet.
The average annual salary for a Midwest Express flight attendant is in the low $20,000 range and reaches $36,000 after 16 years of service.
Skornicka said the airline had agreed to changes in scheduling and per diem expenses that would result in 5 percent to 6 percent increases in take-home pay.
She said the union had asked for a 9.5 percent raise that would take effect immediately, and 3 percent raises on the first and second anniversary of the contract.
Union officials said Midwest Express flight attendants haven't had a pay raise in the three years they have been unionized and called the company's contract proposal inadequate.
The flight attendants voted to form a union in April 1999 and started negotiating their first contract with Midwest Express in early 2000.
08/30/02 17:26 EDT
------
Taken from Midwest Express' website
--
AFA Negotiations Update
Midwest Express has been unable to come to a contract agreement with the Association of Flight Attendants by the end of the cooling-off period mandated by the National Mediation Board. Midwest Express will do everything the law allows to ensure customers are not inconvenienced. We have developed a number of contingency plans and are fully prepared to take the action necessary to deliver safe, uninterrupted service for Midwest Express passengers.
Passengers holding tickets on upcoming flights should plan to travel on the ticketed dates. If a passenger’s flight is impacted by flight attendant work action, the airline will secure replacement crew members or reaccommodate customers as necessary on other flights or other airlines. We advise you to travel on your itinerary as planned.
Please note that Skyway Airlines, the Midwest Express Connection (flight range 1000-2500) is not affected and will operate its flights as scheduled.
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Things that make you go hmmmm.....
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