Merger in the Air

  • Subsidiary plans are major sticking point between Northwest, unions
    Northwest Airlines says its plan to bring the company out of bankruptcy hinges on creating more companies. To lower labor costs, Northwest wants to move thousands of employees, from pilots to bag handlers, into new subsidiaries. Unions say the idea takes cost-cutting too far, causing devastating damage to workers. This issue -- more than any other -- could take negotiations down to the wire and even prompt a strike.January 9, 2006
  • Northwest mechanics vote to stay on strike
    Striking Northwest Airlines mechanics will continue their walkout. Union members could have ended the four-month-old strike Friday, by approving a settlement with the airline. Instead, a majority voted to continue their stand despite little hope of regaining their jobs.December 30, 2005
  • Northwest mechanics to vote on deal that would end strike
    Striking Northwest Airlines mechanics say they'll vote on a deal that would end their walkout. The deal would mean strikers are laid off, but they wouldn't get their jobs back.December 12, 2005
  • Taking Northwest's pulse
    Northwest Airlines has had a rough year, with its mechanics strike and its bankruptcy declaration. What will the coming year hold for one of Minnesota's largest employers?November 29, 2005
  • The state of the strike
    Three months after it began, some observers argue the Northwest Airlines mechanics strike is effectively over. Technically, the strike continues; most members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association have not returned to work, and some travelers still refuse to cross the picket line. But since the strike began in August, Northwest has continued flying its schedule. And the company has filled all of its mechanics jobs with permanent replacements.November 28, 2005
  • Northwest operated safely, FAA says
    The Federal Aviation Administration says Northwest Airlines operated safely in the early days of the mechanics' union strike that began in August.November 17, 2005
  • Northwest flight attendants will take pay cut
    The union is the first to offer Northwest a package of temporary cuts, in the hope Northwest will push back the airline's request to have a bankruptcy judge impose new contract terms.November 2, 2005
  • Northwest resumes hiring permanent replacements
    Northwest Airlines Corp. resumed hiring permanent replacements for striking mechanics on Friday, after their union refused to put the company's latest offer to a vote.October 21, 2005
  • Northwest Airlines pension relief stalled in Congressional impasse
    Seven months after Northwest first called for more time to pay off its pension debts, a bill that would ease the pension burden is stalled near the finish line.October 19, 2005
  • Picketers sour on NWA offer
    Mechanics, custodians and aircraft cleaners picketing outside of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport say they're hopeful union membership will reject Northwest Airline's latest contract offer.October 16, 2005
  • Plans for small town airport service on hold
    Marshall, Minnesota, expanded its airport runway with the promise that Northwest Airlines would begin flights to the city using Mesaba Airlines, one of its regional carriers. Now that both carriers have declared bankruptcy the promise of expanded service is gone and city officials wonder if any other carrier will offer service.October 14, 2005
  • Mesaba follows Northwest Airlines into bankruptcy
    Regional carrier Mesaba Airlines followed Northwest Airlines into bankruptcy on Thursday, a victim of Northwest cuts as the big airline shrinks to try to fix its own financial problems.October 13, 2005
  • Northwest Airlines asks that labor contracts be rejected
    Northwest Airlines Corp. filed a motion Wednesday to have its labor contracts rejected if it can't agree to new terms with its unions. The move was expected as the company works through Chapter 11 bankruptcy.October 12, 2005
  • Northwest board unlikely to survive bankruptcy intact
    As Eagan-based Northwest Airlines slims down and reorganizes in bankruptcy, many employees are uncertain whether they'll remain when the airline emerges. The same could be said for those in the corporate board room.October 12, 2005
  • NWA troubles could push Mesaba into bankruptcy
    Northwest Airlines Corp. regional carrier Mesaba Aviation Inc. is considering filing for bankruptcy protection because of sharp reductions in its schedule, according to a regulatory filing by its parent company on Friday.October 7, 2005
Merger in the Air photo by Michael Carter

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