Northwest Weathers First Day Of Strike

As the strike loomed, the carrier cut about 448 flights, or about 15 percent of its Saturday schedule, in an early launch of its fall schedule. Airlines traditionally cut the number of flights in the fall after the peak summer travel season. Northwest had intended to start its fall schedule on Aug. 27.

The walkout, which began early Saturday morning, was the first major labor action against a large U.S. airline since 1998, when Northwest's pilots walked off the job for nearly three weeks.

At Reagan National Airport yesterday, Northwest passenger Meg Brown stood in line to check her luggage onto her flight to Wisconsin. Her mother, Judy Brown, a former flight attendant with the defunct Pan American World Airways and a former Teamster member, did not hesitate to cross the 10-person picket line outside the airport.

"We're flying no matter what," she said. "I know it's very hard on the employees at every level. But there's a need to restructure." Noting her union background, she added that she is "mindful" of the hardships. "This is a choice between two bad alternatives," she said.

Some travelers did side with the strikers. John Brodkin of Silver Spring said he was planning to fly on Northwest to Calgary, Alberta, next week but changed his booking to a flight that was less convenient.

"I do not wish to help Northwest break its unions, and I refuse to use any business that employs scab labor," Brodkin said.

Northwest, the nation's fourth-largest carrier, has said it has lost more than $3.6 billion since 2001 and is on the brink of filing for bankruptcy protection. The airline had sought $176 million in concessions from the mechanics as part of its efforts to cut $1.1 billion in annual labor expenses. The union said the airline wanted to slice the mechanics workforce in half by using more outside contractors and to cut the pay of remaining workers by 25 percent.

Northwest, which still has to obtain concessions from its pilots, flight attendants and baggage handlers, said the financial crisis of the airline and the airline industry in general precluded negotiating as it had in previous contract talks.

"We told them this were not negotiations as usual. Over the last four years, the marketplace has changed. We need a new labor structure to survive," said Julie Showers, Northwest's vice president of labor relations.

As part of the restructuring, airlines have moved much of their maintenance work to outside contractors. Oversight of the contractors by the Federal Aviation Administration has not kept up with the pace of outsourcing, according to the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General, raising some safety concerns.

Meanwhile, small groups of mechanics walked the picket lines. In Detroit, where Northwest is the largest carrier, dozens of Northwest mechanics picketed outside the airport. At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Northwest's hometown airport, demonstrations were described by one traveler as "surprisingly quiet and low-key." But in cities where Northwest has fewer flights, picketers were also far fewer. In Miami, only one mechanic was demonstrating early in the day, while at National Airport, about 10 picketers showed up.

The mechanics, many of whom have worked for Northwest for about 25 years, said they know they could lose their jobs permanently by striking. But they said they would rather fight.

"Our members know what's at stake. But half of our guys will lose their jobs if we sign" Northwest's proposed contract, said Steve MacFarlane, a spokesman for the union. "How do you sign a deal that betrays and sends half of your friends and family on the streets? Either we all stay or we all go."

Staff writer Catharine Skipp contributed to this report.