Mesaba strike is blocked

A federal judge ruled Monday night that Mesaba Airlines pilots, flight attendants and mechanics cannot strike the bankrupt carrier in the coming days.

"This is a total outrage," said Tom Wychor, chairman of the Mesaba branch of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). "We will appeal this ridiculous decision."

U. S. Bankruptcy Judge Gregory Kishel granted Mesaba's request for a strike injunction, which gives the regional carrier the ability to impose lower pay rates on its union workers as early as Thursday.

A week ago, Kishel gave the airline permission to toss out labor contracts and impose labor cost cuts of 17.5 percent. While Mesaba had the authority to impose those cuts, it does not have a replacement workforce that could keep the carrier operating in the event of a strike.

About 10 p.m. Monday, Kishel decided to bar a strike.

Elizabeth Costello, a Mesaba spokeswoman, said the judge made the "appropriate decision."

She added, "We will continue our efforts to negotiate consensual agreements. We hope to accomplish that goal yet this week before it becomes necessary to impose terms Thursday."

But Carla Rogat, vice president of the Mesaba branch of the Association of Flight Attendants, said the judge's ruling "is going to build more distrust in management."

The airline, which had only $10 million in "available cash" in mid-September, wants to move quickly to slash its labor costs this week. Doing so, Mesaba would be able to tap into $24 million in financing.

Also, the creditors' committee had threatened to file a motion for liquidation if Mesaba didn't cut its labor costs.

"We have worked diligently to address the unions' concerns and are hopeful that they will step forward now and address the company's needs in a critical cash situation," Costello said.

But she acknowledged Monday that talks with the unions haven't been scheduled.

Nick Granath, an attorney for the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), said he regarded Kishel's ruling as "judicial activism." Under the Norris-LaGuardia Act, Granath said, a federal judge does not have the legal authority to issue an injunction.

"Congress chose to curb federal judges from handing out injunctions," Granath said, which is why U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper refused to grant Northwest Airlines a strike injunction against its flight attendants. Gropper's decision was appealed by Northwest, and U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero gave Northwest an injunction that is still in force against its attendants.

The Northwest injunction is under appeal by the flight attendants union.

Mesaba union leaders stressed their intention to appeal. "While disappointed, we stand firm as a Mesaba Labor Coalition and believe that ultimately we will win," Rogat said.

Said Wychor, "Where else can the government strip you of your contract and force you to sell your labor below market rates?"

Mesaba management and its unions have been bargaining for 10 months.

"We will not rest until we are working under ratified, consensual agreements," Wychor said.

Mesaba, which flew 3.1 million passengers during the first nine months of this year, operates regional flights for Northwest Airlines out of its hubs in the Twin Cities, Detroit and Memphis.

Mesaba serves 88 cities in the United States and Canada, including 19 where Mesaba is the only scheduled service. In Minnesota, six cities are served exclusively by Mesaba: Bemidji, Brainerd, Hibbing, International Falls, St. Cloud and Thief River Falls.

Eagan-based Mesaba employs about 3,170 people.

Northwest spokesman Roman Blahoski said that Kishel's ruling allows customers to confidently book travel on Northwest Airlink flights, which are operated by Mesaba.

"While the decision is reassuring to Northwest Airlink customers, we remain hopeful that Mesaba will reach consensual agreements with all of its unions."

Since the federal bankruptcy code was amended in 1984, no airline has imposed work terms on the majority of its unionized workers. But that's precisely what is expected to happen at Mesaba if deals do not emerge at the bargaining table in the next few days.

In a 40-page ruling, Kishel wrote that Mesaba "is not in a position to bargain all the way down to the level of cuts that the unions insist on.

"The court has performed its function [by ruling on the strike injunction] in a dispute that has been maddeningly intractable to date," the judge wrote. "There is still hope for this company, but turning that to reality is once again up to [Mesaba] and the unions alike."

Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709 • lfedor@startribune.com