AFA-CWA to Appeal Injunction, Mesaba Threatens Contract

AFA-CWA members at Mesaba Airlines vowed to continue their fight against drastic pay cuts and abrogation of their contract despite an injunction this week by a bankruptcy judge blocking their right to strike.

The union announced it will appeal the injunction, just as it has a similar ruling at Northwest Airlines.  AFA-CWA maintains that airline workers have a legal right to strike if their contracts are torn up regardless of whether an employer has filed for bankruptcy.

"Mesaba management and the bankruptcy court have already conspired to destroy our contract and now they are denying us the right to use the only tool we have to protect our careers and our livelihoods," said Tim Evenson, Master Executive Council president. "This is yet another example of how the legal system fails to protect the average citizen and continues to cater to corporate America."

Flight attendants together with mechanics and pilots have offered a proposal of shared concessions to help Mesaba emerge from bankruptcy, but the airline continues to insist on imposing wage-benefit cuts of 19.4 percent, which would mean take-home pay of less than $10,000 for some flight attendants.

AFA-CWA represents 450 workers at Mesaba, which is a regional feeder line for Northwest.