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Vol. 71/No. 45      December 3, 2007

 
On the Picket Line
 
Northwest Airlines workers in
Minneapolis protest concessions
Some 100 Northwest Airlines ground service workers, members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM), held a 10-minute protest October 17 on the ramp during their shift at the Minneapolis airport, workers told the Militant. This was one of a number of job actions organized over the last several months to demand that Northwest restore benefits and wages that the union agreed to give up while the airline was in bankruptcy proceedings.

Bosses reportedly tried to intimidate workers from participating in the protest. They read the company code of conduct to individual workers, took down names, videotaped the gathering, and threatened to discipline workers—up to termination—if they did not disperse.

On October 23, more than 100 workers jammed the manager’s offices and hallway to defend coworkers when the company began to interview protest participants for possible disciplinary action. Union officials and workers met with the company operations manager. The company said it would continue the disciplinary interviews but that disciplines would be minimal if at all.

On October 30 IAM members held informational picketing in front of the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport terminal throughout the day.

In August Northwest, which emerged from bankruptcy in May, agreed to improvements in its contract with the pilots’ union after months of high flight cancellations and delays caused by pilot staffing and absenteeism.

—Paul Pederson  
 
Rail workers in France
strike over pension cuts
November 17—Rail workers in France resumed strikes November 14 against pension concessions being demanded by the government for half a million public sector workers.

Currently these workers can retire with pension after 37.5 years. The government plans to extend that to 40 years.

The strikes have disrupted public transit in Paris. On November 16 the unions calling the strike divided over whether to continue it. One of the unions involved, CFDT-Cheminots, urged its members to return to work. The national rail company claimed that two-thirds of the workforce had returned to the job.

In 1995 the government tried to carry through a similar attack on pension benefits, but was pushed back after three weeks of strikes.

—Paul Pederson  
 
 
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