Flight attendants group warns of mini-strikes at Midwest Express By Dan Reed, USA TODAY If negotiations with Midwest Express Airlines fail to produce a first-ever= =20 contract for the carrier's 450 flight attendants by 12:01 a.m. ET Friday =97= =20 and both sides say publicly that the odds are against it =97 flight=20 attendants leaders are promising "CHAOS." That's an acronym =97 it stands for "Creating Havoc Around Our System" =97= for=20 the kind of intermittent mini-strikes that attendants at Alaska Airlines=20 used a decade ago to disrupt that carrier's operations and win a deal they= =20 were seeking. Now, the Association of Flight Attendants at Midwest Express= =20 are committed to the same tactic if a deal isn't reached tonight, spokesman= =20 Jeff Zack says. "It's the way flight attendants have the most leverage in a= =20 negotiations," he says. "Our flight attendants continue to work. The=20 company can't replace us, and they have to continue to pay us." In a CHAOS= =20 job action, attendants walk off only a few, targeted flights just before=20 they're to leave their gates. That results in long delays while replacement= =20 attendants are located, or cancellations. The disruption ripples through=20 the carrier's system, and passengers' lives. Carol Skornicka, Midwest Express' general counsel, said managers trained as= =20 replacements are being put into place to step in. Also, arrangements have=20 been made for other carriers to carry any passengers Midwest Express can't= =20 accommodate. AFA leaders complain that Midwest Express' attendants are among the=20 lowest-paid around, topping out at $36,000 after 16 years on the job. But=20 management of the Milwaukee-based carrier known for high-end service at=20 moderate prices, counters that attendants at the USA's 22nd-largest airline= =20 already are the 12th highest paid. Skornicka says the company can't afford= =20 much more, but won't discuss details of the company's offer. "We're not=20 immune from the assault on the industry caused by the economy and Sept.=20 11," she says. "We're losing money and struggling like the others. We're=20 just not able to give the attendants what they're demanding." Zack says if= =20 the attendants were to get everything they seek, Midwest Express' operating= =20 expenses would rise 0.3%, or about $1.5 million, in the first year of the=20 deal. "To accept the potential for a 10% to 20% loss of revenue (rather=20 than accept) an operating cost increase of three-tenths of 1% doesn't seem= =20 fiscally responsible to me," he says. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (MBH) http://maracasbay.com/ (Maracas Bay Hotel) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************