IAM leaders leery of NWA merger with larger Delta

The head of the Northwest Airlines ground workers union said Thursday his members would be "extremely hard-pressed to support a merger" between Delta Air Lines and Northwest.

Stephen Gordon, a key official with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, said IAM leaders are concerned about a merger because Delta's ground workers aren't unionized, so Northwest employees could lose union representation under a merged airline.

"If this is a merger about Wall Street, we're not interested in it," said Gordon, president of IAM District 143. "A merger is not beneficial to us at this point."

The IAM is Northwest's largest union, representing about 10,900 employees, including customer service agents, reservation agents, clerical workers and equipment service employees.

Those employees ratified wage cuts and other concessions during bankruptcy, including the loss of some job-protection provisions, Gordon said.

To preserve IAM union representation for Northwest ground workers in a merger, a majority of employees from both airlines would have to vote in favor of keeping the union.

The IAM sees a problem across the horizon with airline industry mergers, arguing that they would be harmful to employees and to customers. IAM General Vice President Robert Roach said in a Thursday bulletin that the union is conducting organizing drives at Delta, Continental Airlines and AirTran Airways, all of which could be merger partners with highly unionized carriers.

Last month, the Northwest pilots union said it would support the right merger if certain conditions were met, including major contract improvements and stock awards in the merged carrier. Northwest's flight attendant union leaders have said they could back a merger if eight demands were met, including a substantial pay increase.

Gordon, meanwhile, is focused on educating his members on what's at stake in a potential merger. He noted that IAM leaders already have had multiple conversations with U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., to discuss their concerns.

A potential Northwest-Delta merger was the topic of a Thursday meeting in Washington involving Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and aides for U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn.

"They discussed the importance of working together at the state and federal level to protect Minnesota jobs and airline consumers," said Lee Sheehy, Klobuchar's chief of staff.

The governor has asked Northwest CEO Doug Steenland what steps the state could take to ensure that Northwest maintains a strong presence in Minnesota. Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said that the governor has been talking with Steenland, but Northwest has not made any requests in response to that offer.

"Congressman Oberstar reaffirmed in the meeting that he is opposed to the merger," said his spokesman, John Schadl. "He is going to do what he can to halt it."

In a letter to employees Wednesday, Steenland said that the right merger could create "a more stable, financially secure airline."

Specifically, he said a merger would offer Northwest the ability to build a broader route network and compete effectively as "a truly global carrier."