Strike could force Northwest Airlines to liquidate, executive says
(AP) - A Northwest Airlines labor executive says strike actions by flight attendants could force the airline to liquidate.
The comments from Vice President Julie Hagen Showers came during a hearing in bankruptcy court in New York today. The airline wants a court order blocking flight attendants from job actions that could include a full strike.
The Association of Flight Attendants says it plans to begin random, unannounced strikes beginning Tuesday night unless Northwest backs off from a tough new contract it imposed last week.
The airline imposed new pay and work rules after flight attendants voted down a negotiated agreement for the second time.
Showers says even intermittent strikes would put the airline in danger. She says if Northwest lost 20 percent of its traffic, "we could not sustain ourselves."
The hearing was continuing this afternoon.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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