Now it's NWA

[roz]

Yup, they voted to strike and it's no grapevine!


Charlie's wondering how he's gonna get to and from work if they get released, pass the 30 day cooling period and then strike--yikes!

[roz]

I'm posting this entire article instead of the link, cause the link has annoying commercials!


Tucson, Ariz., Gets Influx of Potential Northwest Airlines Replacement Workers
Jul. 16--As Tucson bakes at 100 degrees or higher for a month-long streak, the hospitality industry is enjoying an unexpected dog-days delight: hundreds of Northwest Airlines trainees populating hotels and restaurants.

At Scooter's cafe Downtown, brawny aviation mechanics are sipping iced lattes and boosting gross sales by a third over what owner Teresa Terry had anticipated.

Nearby, at the Radisson Hotel City Center, 181 W. Broadway, vice president of operations Ed Foster has booked about 290 trainees through July -- and sent hundreds more to other hotels.

"Because Tucson is seasonal, I usually have to lay off half my staff each summer," Foster said. "I actually had to hire 24 to 30 summer employees."

Northwest, the nation's fourth-largest airline, has brought about 500 replacement workers to Tucson for training in case unionized mechanics go on strike this summer. They arrived in late May and will be here through July, if not longer.

The workplace crisis facing unionized mechanics has, ironically, meant many Tucson hospitality workers have fatter paychecks in the down season. Event planners working with Northwest told Foster there may be 1,000 Northwest trainees in Tucson should the union strike.

Each trainee receives a $2,000 signing bonus and a $32-an-hour wage, said O.V. Delle-Femine, national director of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association. A Northwest Airlines spokeswoman did not return a call seeking comment.

Foster helped place 180 to 200 Northwest trainees at the Clarion Santa Rita Hotel & Suites. The JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa is taking some of the Northwest overflow, from 15 to 30 rooms, spokesman Mike Kass said.

Inside the Radisson, Foster built a guest laundry for the trainees. It's already paid for itself, he said. Foster estimates the city will reap more than $200,000 in bed taxes due to the Northwest influx.

Arizona Office of Tourism communications director Jacki Mieler had a blunt economic assessment: "Five hundred guys visiting Tucson in the down season is a boon. Absolutely." The Federal Aviation Administration may supplement Tucson's labor-dispute jackpot.

Delle-Femine said the union has notified the FAA of the Tucson training and asked the agency to evaluate whether the mechanics are acquiring the skills needed to maintain a commercial airplane. Rows of Northwest trainees were sitting in Radisson meeting rooms studying laptop screens Friday, but Delle-Femine said the FAA requires hands-on training at an airfield as well.

"The FAA will go to Tucson to investigate hands-on training only if there is a strike," Delle-Femine said.

That possibility is seeming increasingly likely. Government mediators requested Thursday that Northwest turn over its contract negotiations to arbitration. That kicked off a process that could lead to a strike.

If Northwest and the union reject the National Mediation Board's request for arbitration, it could mark the beginning of a 30-day cooling-off period for the two sides, after which the mechanics could legally strike, according to the terms of the Railway Labor Act, analysts said.

"This virtually assures the commencement of a 30-day cooling off-period within the next week or so," said JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker in a research note. "Our guess is July 21, suggesting midnight Friday, Aug. 19, as the date on which a strike can legally occur." The strike drama behind the Old Pueblo's windfall shadows Terry's elation. "The idea of anyone out of work, for a strike or a layoff, makes me sad," said Terry, of Scooter's.

Last summer, baton twirlers staying in nearby hotels for a national championship threw extra cash into Scooter's for a few days.

Now she chats with a horde of Northwest regulars who come to Scooter's three times daily. Many of the men were laid off from jobs and grabbed the training as a lifeline to support families, Terry said. The trainees often rent cars for weekend excursions, often in the form of busman's holidays, visiting aviation-related tourist attractions.

They "go to the airplane boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base "and the Air and Space Museum," Terry said.

-----

To see more of The Arizona Daily Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.azstarnet.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

NWAC, JPM,


Story from REDNOVA NEWS:
http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=178803

Published: 2005/07/19 00:00:37 CDT

© Rednova 2004

[lucky81698]

Good article Roz. That's what the ad I tried to put up reads, $32/hour, 40 hour guaranteed per week, $2000 signing bonus, paid hotel and tools provided. It just goes to show you there will always be scabs ready and available in the airline industry! I'm sure they have had no problem finding F/As too.

Hopefully they will settle their negotiations before it comes to a strike. I highly doubt that the President will allow it anyway as they tend to step in on airline strikes. I believe he even said no airline would strike while he was president.

But, Charlie may be in for a 2 leg commute! :hair_rais

Jan

[Kristie]

so here's the ad that was in the paper... just in case you wanted to see it, but missed it.:grin: gotta love the fine print at the bottom... bad deal for those who actually take the job - but with the turnout that NWA's been seeing with the mechanics, it wouldn't surprise me anymore to see a ton of ppl apply (unfortunately). when people gotta put food on the table, i guess, they'll do anything...gotta thank our lovely government for that one - and the best part - is that bush will say he's "creating good jobs" with this crap

[roz]

Yesterday the USA Today published an article that listed mechanic pay rates. The USA Today reported:

Southwest - $37.86
Northwest - $36.39
Continental - $32.21
Frontier - $31.70
American - $31.57
Delta - $31.46
JetBlue - $30.47
AirTran - $30.05
United - $28.89
Alaska - $28.48
America West - $25.67
US Airways - $25.28

Here's the full article:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztra...nwa-usat_x.htm

[roz]

The cooling off period has started:

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050720/cgw054.html?.v=16

[roz]

Check this out:

http://www.amfa32.com/newscab.wmv

[lucky81698]

Thanks Roz,

You find the best things! I have been using them in an argument with someone saying they are not scabs becuase they work for a "Contractor". My argument is that if they had contract mx already in place it would be different, but since these people are being hired as "replacement workers" should there be a strike then I consider them to be scabs. It looks like I'm not the only one! Thanks for finding and posting this stuff.
Here's another
http://www.amfanatl.org/Pages/06_New...7-21-20051.pdf

[Kristie]

nope, your not the only one that would consider them scabs!

[roz]

http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5538047.html

http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5540032.html

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050802/north...ions.html?.v=2

http://www.freep.com/money/business/...e_20050730.htm

So they've hired the replacements and security to prevent violence.

And a NWA/Delta story:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...080200329.html

United to continue in bankruptcy.....:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/03/business/03air.html

And our really important M&A news--sneaker wars:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/03/business/03shoe.html?

And GM is extending the employee discount for another month. I get to buy my Volvo on my sister's Ford discount. It's a great deal!