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Minnesota Concerned Over Impact of Delta-Northwest Merger

The Northwest-Delta merger's impact on flight attendants' bargaining rights and jobs in Minnesota was explored in hearings this week before the Minnesota state legislature.  "Without the protections of our collective bargaining rights, it is likely that management will drive down wages, benefits, work rules and eliminate jobs altogether," AFA-CWA Northwest flight attendant Rene Foss told the legislature's local government and metropolitan affairs committee. "We are very concerned that this merger can be used as an opportunity to break Northwest flight attendants' contract, eliminate our union and destroy our collective bargaining rights," she said.

The committee's chair, Rep. Debra Hilstrom, was also concerned about the carrier's apparent decision to close Northwest's corporate headquarters in the state, a move that would violate a covenant Northwest made to the state to keep its offices in Minneapolis-St. Paul in exchange for $270 million in bonds, $245 million of which is outstanding. "These are good paying jobs for us," said Hilstrom.