A Capitol rally at noon Feb. 20 will push the case for the State of Minnesota to pay unemployment benefits to striking mechanics at Northwest Airlines. The rally also marks the six-month anniversary of their strike.

The rally will be held in the rotunda.

Unlike in Michigan, where Northwest also has major operations, Minnesota is denying striking mechanics jobless pay and the retraining that goes with it. Administrative law judge Richard Croft, of the state's Department of Employment and Economic Development, ruled that cleaners and custodians in the same bargaining unit are eligible for unemployment benefits, but mechanics are not.

Croft ruled that Northwest's demand for a 25 percent pay cut was so unreasonable that it forced cleaners and custodians to strike. Northwest's bargaining behavior was the equivalent of a lockout, he said.

A few days later, however, Croft ruled that higher-paid mechanics were not forced to strike because, in his opinion, they could absorb a 25 percent pay cut.

But AMFA Local 33, which represents strikers in the Twin Cities, argues that DEED is ignoring that Northwest eliminated more than 3,500 jobs ? more than 80 percent of the bargaining unit. AMFA represented 4,427 workers when the strike began in August; Northwest now has only 880 mechanics on its payroll, all of whom are strikebreakers. Northwest eliminated all cleaner and custodian jobs, and outsourced the remaining mechanic jobs to third-party vendors.

Ted Ludwig, president of AMFA Local 33, said more than 850 mechanics have not found other work and should qualify for state benefits.

In December, AMFA members rejected a settlement offer from Northwest that would have ended their strike, placed them on layoff status, and made them all eligible for unemployment benefits.

Adapted from The Union Advocate, the official newspaper of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@stpaulunions.org