In the wake of a bankruptcy court ruling giving Mesaba (MAIR) the authority to abrogate its labor contracts, the airline's pilots pledged to reach agreement on a new contract or go on strike. Unions are fighting against the proposed 19.4 percent decrease in wage and benefit cuts proposed by Mesaba.

On July 14, Judge Gregory Kishel of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Minnesota granted the airline's motion for authority to reject its contract with flight attendants, pilots and mechanics. This ruling authorizes Mesaba to make changes to its collective bargaining agreements at a time that it determines to be appropriate.

"We are in the process of meeting with mediators and representatives of each labor group - this began immediately following the judge's ruling Friday," said the airline.

The ruling does not mean changes are imposed automatically. The court ruled management must provide 10 business day's notice of its intent to abrogate current labor contracts and impose new terms. The advanced notice was done, according to the judge, so that the parties had one last chance to reach consensual agreement. In conclusion, Judge Kishel admonished both sides to join together to "save this airline."

If no agreement is reached, the company is authorized to implement the most recent proposals it presented to each group represented by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA). Mesaba has reached agreements on permanent wage and benefit reductions with the Transport Workers Union (TWU).

AMFA issued a statement saying it would continue to negotiate while seeking its appeal. "AMFA has put significant money on the table and offered meaningful and painful compromises in order to accommodate the company's distressed condition," it said. "AMFA members are willing to make sacrifices to help save Mesaba but are not willing to subsidize corporate profits at their expense."

The pilots rejected management's call to impose wages, saying the new wage scale is below "virtually every pilot in the United States, and, in many cases, even below the federal poverty guidelines. If management refuses to compromise, they may be triggering the end of Mesaba." For its part, the airline maintains the unions do not have a legal right to strike and will file an injunction enjoining the unions from striking. All three unions have set up strike offices. (RAN, May 15, p.5) The group is readying a filing, appealing Judge Kishel's decision. It charged that the airline transferred all its profits in recent years to its holding company MAIR Holdings and, at the time of Mesaba's bankruptcy filing, had $120 million in cash and equivalents.

ALPA President Captain Duane Woerth said that none of the airlines that filed for bankruptcy since 9/11 "hid cash reserves in a holding company." Captain Tom Wychor further charged that management just took more than $2 million in bonuses for themselves in June. Mesaba Spokesperson Elizabeth Costello called both charges completely false.