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Flight attendants at Northwest Airlines are looking to turn any new jockeying for merger partners within the airline industry to their advantage.

US Airways' hostile bid for Delta Air Lines last week "signifies the beginning of consolidation" in the industry, Mollie Reiley, interim president of the Northwest branch of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), said Monday. "Northwest clearly wants to be a player in that game."

But the lack of a contract between Northwest and its flight attendants leaves Northwest as "the wallflower at the dance," Reiley told the Star Tribune. "Nobody wants to take on [Northwest's] labor problems."

The AFA and Northwest are fighting in court over strike rights, and attendants have been working under imposed terms for almost four months after rejecting two contract deals. Reiley hopes to use the merger issue to increase the leverage of flight attendants so they can negotiate a deal with Northwest that union members will ratify.

If the airline and the union can achieve labor peace, Reiley said, "All of a sudden, [Northwest] is a desirable partner before the merger dance card fills up."

The National Mediation Board intends to bring the two sides back to the bargaining table Dec. 12.

"If Northwest indicates that they want to sit down earlier, that's great. We'd welcome that," Reiley said.

The airline declined Monday to comment on any connection between its merger prospects and resolving its labor conflict with the flight attendants.

The airline said in a statement that it wants to negotiate a deal and "is working hard to achieve that goal as soon as possible."

John Budd, a human resources professor at the University of Minnesota, said, "Uncertainty is the enemy of many dealmakers, so I think Northwest would be more attractive to potential merger partners if all of their labor agreements were wrapped up."

Under the imposed work terms, Northwest secured $195 million in annual cuts from the flight attendants.

By a 4-to-1 ratio, attendants rejected a concessionary deal in June and then voted out their old union in favor of the AFA. Leaders of the AFA quickly negotiated a new agreement, but it was turned down by 55 percent of the members in late July.

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero blocked the attendants from waging sporadic strikes in response to the imposed terms. A week from today, the union will attempt to regain its strike rights when it makes its arguments before the Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Budd noted that the attendants are trying to restore their strike threat, which also could scare away some merger partners.

Federal mediators have convened Northwest and AFA for some bargaining sessions over the past few months, but Reiley said that Northwest only "invited us to rearrange the deck chairs."

Reiley said that attendants are justifiably demanding a better offer. Under the terms Northwest imposed July 31, she said, attendants are working longer hours, getting less pay and paying higher health care costs. They no longer get flight crew meals from Northwest, so many attendants are forced to buy airport food.

"People are having trouble keeping their homes," Reiley said.

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