Five days earlier, Northwest bosses had notified thousands of employees they would be laid off by the end of the day. The company invoked force majeure provisions in the union contracts that allow the company to tear up the clauses that are supposed to guarantee notice of layoff and severance pay. Several other airlines carried out similar measures.

Top executives at American and several smaller carriers also pressed management and union workers to accept voluntary pay cuts. American, Delta, and United indefinitely suspended companion travel, which allows friends and relatives of employees to travel at a fraction of the cost of a full-fare ticket.

The airline bosses claimed they reversed course on the force majeure as a gesture to provide a "relief package" to ease the pain of the thousands of displaced workers. In the wake of the layoffs, however, and the massive $15 billion bailout package for the airline giants, both Northwest and American faced growing worker and union protests over the high-handed setting aside of the union contract.

From the beginning, Continental, US Airways, and Delta, which is the midst of union-organizing efforts by flight attendants, mechanics, cleaners, and ramp workers, chose to avoid unnecessary labor troubles and paid severance. In addition, officials of all the major airline and aerospace unions have come under growing pressure from the ranks to respond to the massive layoffs and other attacks by the airline bosses, which they have largely done through lobbying Congress and filing grievances against the "emergency" measures.  
 
 
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