Mesaba Flight Attendants Win Major Court Ruling

A federal judge in Minneapolis this week blocked Mesaba Airlines from slashing pay and benefits for its 450 flight attendants' by nearly one-fifth when he overturned an earlier ruling by a bankruptcy judge that gave the airline permission to abrogate its labor contracts.

"This is a monumental victory for Mesaba workers and employees everywhere," said Tim Evenson, president of AFA-CWA's Mesaba master executive council. He said the union hopes management now "will come back to the table for productive discussions — this time with a proposal that is fair."

He noted that, "Over 100 days ago, we presented the company with a cost savings proposal that met their targeted concessions. We have heard nothing from them since. It is time for management to drop litigation and negotiate fairly."

Mesaba sought to use the bankruptcy process to impose wage-benefit cuts of 19.4 percent, which would have meant that some flight attendants would take home less than $10,000 a year after paying health insurance costs.