Of the 9,700 mechanics and other members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) at Northwest four years ago, more than half have already been laid off. Now the company seeks to cut in half the remaining 4,400 jobs. It is demanding that workers take a 25 percent pay cut, a freeze in pensions, and an increase in subcontracting mechanics’ work.

Northwest, the fourth-largest U.S. airline, says it needs $1.1 billion in concessions to remain profitable because of competition and high fuel costs.

Northwest is implementing a strikebreaking plan it has been preparing for 18 months. It has organized 1,200 scab mechanics and hundreds of managers to keep operating its 1,500 daily flights. It is outsourcing much maintenance work and has employed Vance Security, the strikebreaking outfit.

Faced with this union-busting operation, AMFA members on the picket line said they felt they had no option but to strike. The walkout began after a 30-day “cooling-off” period imposed by federal mediators.

“We’re going to do what we have to do, if it means taking the company into bankruptcy and taking this company down,” said Steve Sutherland, vice president of AMFA Local 33, at a prestrike rally of 200 union members held here.

A union flyer explains that AMFA offered “a 16 percent pay cut, 20 percent out-of-pocket contribution to medical costs, and substantial work rule changes.” The company turned down the offer as not enough.

The offensive by Northwest is part of a decade-long drive by all the major carriers against airline workers’ wages, job conditions, and pensions. United Airlines and USAir have used bankruptcy proceedings—and American Airlines and Delta have threatened to do so—as a cover to impose wage and benefit cuts and to tear up pension agreements involving tens of thousands of workers organized by the machinists, flight attendants, and pilots unions.

Union officials have accepted employers’ argument that workers must “sacrifice” to keep the airlines profitable and that concessions prevent the loss of jobs and benefits. Every round of cuts, however, has led to more takeback demands.

Michael Smith, an AMFA mechanic on the picket line in the Twin Cities, stated, “If this were just about wages we would settle. I know many nonunion people that don’t want to see us go down. We are fighting for a way of life and the future.”

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has urged solidarity with the striking unionists. In a letter to ILWU locals, James Spinosa, international president, said, “I ask all ILWU members to do everything in their power to help these workers in the struggle as if it were your own.”

“That the employer would spend the money to hire, train, and house more than 1,000 scabs,” said the ILWU president, shows that the real issue is “the busting of your union.”

Kevin McCarthy, an American Airlines mechanic at New York’s LaGuardia airport, said his union, the Transport Workers Union, decided that its members will not work on Northwest aircraft.

At the prestrike rally of 200 workers here, one of those invited to say a few words was Jacob Perasso, Socialist Workers candidate for mayor of St. Paul. “When people ask me how they can support my campaign, I tell them to come out and join the union members of AMFA on the picket lines. My campaign supports the fight for unions and the extension of union power.” Perasso, a member of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 789, pledged to work to bring co-workers to support the strike.

Members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM), Professional Flight Attendants Association (PFAA), and Airline Pilots Association are also on Northwest’s chopping block.

Officials of those unions, however, have told members not to honor the picket lines. The IAM and AMFA officialdoms have been hostile to each other since Northwest mechanics voted in 1998 to leave the IAM and join AMFA, whose officials says its role is to protect a “highly skilled craft.”

In an August 9 letter responding to an AMFA request for support, IAM vice president Robert Roach stated, “IAM members will not be duped into standing with AMFA…. If AMFA wins, the IAM members lose.”

A statement by IAM District 143 in St. Paul says all IAM members “should continue working their regularly scheduled shifts and immediately report any AMFA threats or confrontations to IAM representatives.” The statement adds that any individual Machinist who chooses to honor the picket line will be “fully supported” by the IAM.

The PFAA, too, voted to direct “all members to report to work as scheduled.”

Top AFL-CIO officials have said that federation will not support the strikers at Northwest.

José Cardona, a Northwest mechanic in Detroit, said in a phone interview, “While at the top level the IAM does not support our strike, a lot of members of that union have stopped by to show their solidarity. I think that’s important.”

“The labor movement needs unity right now and that means solidarity on the picket line,” said ILWU president Spinosa in his statement. “An injury to one is an injury to all.”

To send letters of solidarity, fax AMFA at (603) 527-9151 or e-mail admin@amfanatl.org.

Jacob Perasso and Joseph Kapsner in St. Paul, Arlene Rubinstein in Atlanta, and Brian Williams in New York contributed to this article.
 
 
Related articles:
Solidarity with Northwest strike!
Fight against union-busting assault is cause of all labor
SWP candidates back Northwest strikers  
 
 
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