Mesaba flight attendant, pilot and machinist contract rejection again approved, effective Oct. 18

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Oct. 16 - Mesaba Aviation, Inc. once again obtained court approval to reject its collective bargaining agreements with its flight attendants, pilots and machinists after part of the initial approval was remanded back to the bankruptcy court from the district court, according to a Monday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota.

According to the filing, the company can reject the collective bargaining agreements and impose contract terms as of 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 18.

As previously reported, on Sept. 22, Mesaba's previous order approving rejection of its collective bargaining agreements was vacated following the partial district court reversal of the ruling.

On Sept. 14, district court judge Michael J. David reversed two parts of the bankruptcy court's order approving its rejection of collective bargaining agreements.

The district court reversed the bankruptcy court's decisions with respect to Mesaba's refusal to negotiate snap-back provisions and its failure to demonstrate that its proposals fairly and equitably spread the burden of reorganization among all relevant affected parties, particularly parent Mair Holdings, Inc.

In that ruling, further proceedings on the reversed issues were remanded back to the bankruptcy court.

On remand, Davis said the bankruptcy court must consider whether Mesaba has met its burden of proof to show that the proposals treat the unions fairly and equitably in light of any sacrifices that Mair may be asked to make in this reorganization.

Pilots' union to appeal; strike possible

According to a Monday pilots' union news release, Mesaba's pilot union leaders said they will continue their fight to protect the careers of their members in the wake of Monday's bankruptcy court decision.

The pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International, said this decision takes them closer to a potential strike or exodus of employees at the airline.

ALPA said it will aggressively appeal the ruling, and that it firmly believes that Mesaba pilots have the right to strike and they intend to use that right when management imposes its terms instead of negotiating a mutually acceptable agreement.

If the court also approves Mesaba's motion for an injunction to stop a strike, ALPA said it intends to forcefully litigate on that issue as well.

"Mesaba labor won the appeal of this court's initial 1113(c) decision because management did not meet the nine requirements set forth by bankruptcy law to allow for the imposition of new terms," head of ALPA at Mesaba Tom Wychor said in the union release.

"And in our estimation, they failed to meet those requirements again.

"If the company's economics have changed to the extent that it now requires less than the original 19.4% concessions from employees, as evidenced by their new request to impose 17.5% over 5.5 years, then the unions have a right to all the information that led to that decision, but that didn't occur."

According to the release, the pilots' last proposal to management offered a 15% labor cost reduction, a savings that by the company's own financial model would guarantee it a 6% profit margin.

ALPA said it is planning a job fair for Mesaba pilots to assist them in finding better employment opportunities, and it has also been in constant contact with their counterparts at many other ALPA carriers to secure preferential hiring for Mesaba pilots should management impose new terms.

Mesaba, an Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines affiliate, filed for bankruptcy on Oct. 13, 2005 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota. Its Chapter 11 case number is 05-39258.

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