Napoleon TNT
Vote For Pedro!
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- Feb 13, 2005
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Mesaba will again seek OK to toss contracts
Regional carrier says it still prefers negotiated deals with unions
Staff and wire reports
As talks with its unions have not produced agreements, Mesaba Airlines plans on Monday to again ask a bankruptcy judge for permission to throw out its labor contracts.
But even if Mesaba, a regional carrier for Northwest Airlines, gets approval to reject the contracts, it has indicated it still will try to bargain deals, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Costello.
"We have not set a date for imposing terms if the judge rules in our favor,'' she said. "Negotiated settlements are our preference."
Costello said Mesaba has been talking with its mechanics, pilots and flight attendants unions but hasn't been able to reach deals to cut its labor costs by about 19 percent. Monday had been set earlier as a day to return to court.
Pilots union leader Tom Wychor expects Mesaba would use the authority to impose contracts as a bargaining chip in another round of negotiations.
"They'll set a deadline,'' he said. "For all intents and purposes, we have been told Aug. 1."
Costello said Mesaba has not set a deadline for agreements.
Eagan-based Mesaba filed for bankruptcy protection in October, about a month after Northwest's Chapter 11 filing. Bankruptcy Judge Gregory Kishel in Minneapolis rejected Mesaba's first request to throw out its union contracts. But the judge's rejection was based mostly on technical grounds, and Mesaba quickly corrected those and renewed its request.
All three unions have raised the possibility of a strike if the judge allows Mesaba to impose its terms on them. "We can strike at a time and place of our choosing,'' said Wychor.
Airlines in bankruptcy repeatedly have argued that their unions don't have a right to strike. Legal experts agree that a clear legal precedent is lacking on the issue.
Mesaba has said it is losing $2 million to $3 million a month and it will run out of cash by the end of August unless it gets debtor-in-possession financing. Mesaba also is still waiting for Northwest, its only customer, to decide whether Mesaba will keep doing regional flying.
Mesaba parent MAIR Holdings Inc. has withdrawn an earlier offer for such financing. On Thursday, Costello said the airline is in talks with two other debtor-in-possession financiers and hopes to have an answer in about a week.
The Associated Press and staff writer Martin J. Moylan contributed to this story
Regional carrier says it still prefers negotiated deals with unions
Staff and wire reports
As talks with its unions have not produced agreements, Mesaba Airlines plans on Monday to again ask a bankruptcy judge for permission to throw out its labor contracts.
But even if Mesaba, a regional carrier for Northwest Airlines, gets approval to reject the contracts, it has indicated it still will try to bargain deals, said spokeswoman Elizabeth Costello.
"We have not set a date for imposing terms if the judge rules in our favor,'' she said. "Negotiated settlements are our preference."
Costello said Mesaba has been talking with its mechanics, pilots and flight attendants unions but hasn't been able to reach deals to cut its labor costs by about 19 percent. Monday had been set earlier as a day to return to court.
Pilots union leader Tom Wychor expects Mesaba would use the authority to impose contracts as a bargaining chip in another round of negotiations.
"They'll set a deadline,'' he said. "For all intents and purposes, we have been told Aug. 1."
Costello said Mesaba has not set a deadline for agreements.
Eagan-based Mesaba filed for bankruptcy protection in October, about a month after Northwest's Chapter 11 filing. Bankruptcy Judge Gregory Kishel in Minneapolis rejected Mesaba's first request to throw out its union contracts. But the judge's rejection was based mostly on technical grounds, and Mesaba quickly corrected those and renewed its request.
All three unions have raised the possibility of a strike if the judge allows Mesaba to impose its terms on them. "We can strike at a time and place of our choosing,'' said Wychor.
Airlines in bankruptcy repeatedly have argued that their unions don't have a right to strike. Legal experts agree that a clear legal precedent is lacking on the issue.
Mesaba has said it is losing $2 million to $3 million a month and it will run out of cash by the end of August unless it gets debtor-in-possession financing. Mesaba also is still waiting for Northwest, its only customer, to decide whether Mesaba will keep doing regional flying.
Mesaba parent MAIR Holdings Inc. has withdrawn an earlier offer for such financing. On Thursday, Costello said the airline is in talks with two other debtor-in-possession financiers and hopes to have an answer in about a week.
The Associated Press and staff writer Martin J. Moylan contributed to this story
