Northwest Airlines machinists campaign for fairness

"Yeah," noted his friend, Art Hay, "after taxes, you\’ll get $75."

Contrast that with the $244 million quarterly profit the airline just posted, and you\’ll understand the frustration and anger felt by many Northwest employees. On Tuesday, in anticipation of a return to the bargaining table, they launched a campaign for fairness with picketing at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Kostichka, a nine-year employee, and Hay, a veteran of 19 years with the airline, are among some 4,300 members of International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers Local 1833 who have sacrificed millions of dollars in pay and benefits to keep Northwest flying.

Their efforts enabled Northwest to emerge from bankruptcy this summer and post a higher-than-expected profit for the three months ending Sept. 30. Chief Executive Doug Steenland enjoys an equity package valued at $26.6 million over four years. Stock prices are up and investors are happy.

Meanwhile, Jesse Anhalt nearly lost his home. Friends pitched in several thousand dollars when the bank was ready to foreclose, he said. Now, the baggage handler – a veteran of 10 years with Northwest – is struggling to pay them back on a paycheck that\’s 25 percent smaller than it was a few years ago.

"I\’m not asking for a lot of money," Anhalt said as he stood with fellow IAM members outside the Lindbergh terminal. "I\’m just asking for what\’s fair."

Members of Machinists Lodge 1833 picketed in front of the terminal at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Tuesday.

On Nov. 5, representatives of Northwest Airlines and IAM District 143 will meet to address unresolved pay and nonmonetary issues, said Ken Hooker, president of Local 1833.

Company executives "seem to have forgotten about the people who make it happen here everyday," Hooker said. "Obviously, with the profits they\’re making, they need to make some adjustments" to the pay and benefits of the average worker.

Workers represented by the IAM include ground support, mechanics, equipment service employees, customer service agents, ticket sales agents, office and clerical personnel, reservation agents, flight simulator technicians and simulator support specialists, aircraft service technicians, fuel quality control technicians, cargo handlers, stock clerks, security and flight kitchen personnel.

The campaign for fairness is being coordinated among IAM members in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, Memphis and other Northwest locations, Shop Committee member Kip Hedges said.

He describes the mood among IAM members as one of "grim determination."

Northwest executives "are proclaiming they want to be our friends, they want to mend fences," Hedges noted. "They have an opportunity to do that."

The campaign also makes the link between treatment of employees and customer service. On Tuesday, IAM members handed out fliers headlined "No passenger left behind."

"As International Association of Machinists members working for Northwest Airlines, we believe passengers should receive the many benefits of long-term, seasoned workers who provide superior customer service," the flier states. "Unfortunately, even with Northwest Airline\’s record profits, passengers suffer from their policies of short staffing, outsourcing and underpaid employees."

The pay cuts and increase in health insurance premiums have led to high turnover, IAM members said.

"They have a hard time keeping people so you\’re always working short," said 22-year employee Rick Bright. At the same time, planes are full and spending less time on the ground to be loaded and serviced.

That\’s meant more injuries among workers who are handling higher workloads, Grievance Committee member Matt Collins said. Nearly every week, someone goes out on long-term disability.

"This used to be a career," he noted sadly. "It\’s no longer a career. Now it\’s just a job."

For more information
Visit these IAM websites, www.localiam1833.org  and www.iam143.org