According to the Star-Tribune, Minnesota based Mesaba Airlines has suffered a major setback. Mesaba operates exclusively under contract with Northwest’s commuter arm, Northwest Airliink. It is a subsidiary of MAIR Holdings, which also owns Big Sky Airlines, which operates 19-seater Beechcraft Turboprop Airplanes in the Pacific Northwest. It codeshares with Northwest, Alaska, USAirways, and Horizon Air and operates much of its service under the Essential Air Service program.
Like the carrier whose name is painted on its planes, Mesaba Airlines nullified its existing contracts with its pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics in mid-July under the authority of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge. U.S. District Court has overturned that ruling on appeal, on grounds that Mesaba didn’t negotiate in good faith and faiiled a legal test requiring it to be fair and equitable in spreading the pain of its bankruptcy reorganization, particular in spreading it to its parent holding company, MAIR. The unions have criticized MAIR for taking money from Mesaba in recent years and distancing itself when Northwest reduced its fleet and missed payments. Finally, Mesaba’s refusal to negotiate provisions for the employees to get better compensation if the financial situation improves for the airline also contributed to this decision.
Without 19.4 percent labor cuts in contracts, Mesaba cannot secure for $24 million in debt financing. Mesaba President John Spanjers warned that they must reach deals with the company quickly or the airline will cease flight operations. The pilots union offered 14 percent labor savings over three years, and the chairman of their union commented that if they cannot pay competitive rates, they will have to work someplace else.
We feel the head of the Flight Attendant’s union summed it up best. For the company to be worth saving, it must offer a viable future for employees. Employees at most companies are willing to make sacrifices to keep the company going in times of financial crisis. But they have to draw the line somewhere. If they are doing more work for less money, and can’t make ends meet as they once could…it is not a viable long-term option, especially when management at some of these same companies often collect bonuses and other perks concurrently with this.