Mesaba, unions still talking
The regional airline and three labor unions continued negotiations as employees and supporters picketed.

Liz Fedor, Star Tribune
October 27, 2006

Photo by Glen Stubbe, Star Tribune
Mesaba Airlines employees and supporters from the airline industry rallied Thursday in front of the federal courthouse in downtown Minneapolis to protest a bankruptcy judge's injunction preventing them from striking.

Labor negotiations at Mesaba Airlines continued their overtime session Thursday night.

Earlier in the day, about 150 Mesaba employees and their supporters had picketed in front of the federal courthouse in Minneapolis.

Both sides were mum on the substance of the negotiations over new contracts for the regional carrier's pilots, flight attendants and mechanics.

"All along, we have believed that management and the unions have a common interest in saving this airline, and that is why we are still negotiating," Mesaba spokeswoman Elizabeth Costello said Thursday evening.

Jerry Glass, an aviation consultant and former US Airways executive, said it was a positive sign that the two sides were still at the table hours after Mesaba could have simply imposed work terms, as allowed by a court ruling.

"This shows that with guns staring both of them in the face ... the preference is that this gets settled peaceably," Glass said.

It was unclear how long the talks might go on. Mesaba has had marathon negotiations before; in January 2004, pilots and management talked for about 40 consecutive hours before reaching a deal.

On Thursday afternoon, workers from Mesaba, supported by contingents from Northwest and Pinnacle airlines, marched in silent formation outside the courthouse. They carried red, white and blue signs that read, "Court Strips Mesaba Workers' Freedom," in protest of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gregory Kishel's decision Monday to block Mesaba workers from striking.

"We didn't expect a year ago to have a judge to say, 'No, you are handcuffed to your airplane, you can't leave work. We are not going to let you strike,' " said Chris Wiggins, a Pinnacle Airlines pilot and labor leader from St. Paul, who joined the Mesaba workers at their rally.

Mesaba President John Spanjers told employees Thursday that the regional carrier had delayed imposing 17.5 percent labor-cost reductions on its workers, even though Kishel had granted Mesaba the legal authority to do so as of 12:01 a.m.

"Our goal remains [reaching] consensual agreements," Spanjers said.

Tom Wychor, chairman of the Mesaba pilots union, also emphasized the need to keep talking. "We should all stay right where we are and keep working at the table to try to get the agreement that's going to work for the company and work for the employees," Wychor said.

The bankrupt carrier, which operates regional flights to 88 cities for Northwest Airlines, has been attempting to slash labor costs since December. Management has said it needs to cut costs to boost Mesaba's ability to secure new regional jets from Northwest and to gain access to $24 million in debt financing Mesaba needs to stay afloat.

During the 1930s, Wychor told the protesters, "Minnesotans died creating the right to strike that this bankruptcy court so callously stripped from the working men and women who built Mesaba Airlines. We are aggressively appealing this travesty, and it will not stand."

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