Northwest flight attendants latest asked to take pay cut MINNEAPOLIS (AP) =97 Northwest Airlines asked its flight attendants to= absorb=20 about $134.1 million in annual costs, including a 9.8% pay decrease, after= =20 pitching similar labor-cutting proposals to its three other large unions.=20 The Eagan-based carrier already pitched cuts to its ground workers, pilots= =20 and mechanics unions, before meeting Wednesday with the Teamsters union,=20 which represents roughly 10,000 Northwest flight attendants. Mollie Reiley,= =20 Teamsters Local 2000 trustee, said Northwest's plan that would save $864=20 million in flight attendant costs over seven years was "outrageous" and=20 demonstrates a "complete lack of respect" for union members. She said=20 flight attendants will express their displeasure at the company's annual=20 meeting April 25 in New York City. On Wednesday, Northwest Airlines =97=20 Michigan's largest air carrier =97 reported its first-quarter losses more=20 than doubled to $396 million as the war in Iraq and higher fuel costs=20 battered the travel industry. Chief Executive Richard Anderson said he saw= =20 no signs that business would improve anytime soon and he warned that more=20 cost-cutting was needed. In March, the carrier cut its work force by 4,900= =20 and grounded 20 airplanes. On Monday, Northwest told its mechanics,=20 custodians and cleaners that the airline wants to eliminate another 1,000=20 of their jobs. And Tuesday, the company asked its other ground workers to=20 absorb about $120 million in annual cuts, including another 1,450 job cuts.= =20 Northwest plans to drop 165 additional pilots from its payroll by the end=20 of August and has said another 110 pilots could be cut later in the year.=20 In separate news, Northwest flight attendants will soon begin voting on=20 whether to switch unions. The Professional Flight Attendants Association,=20 an independent group formed by a faction of Northwest flight attendants, is= =20 attempting to oust the Teamsters. PFAA leaders said the National Mediation= =20 Board informed them Wednesday that they have collected authorization cards= =20 from the required 50% plus one of the airline's flight attendants to=20 authorize an election. The National Mediation Board is expected to mail=20 election notices soon, and the election will be conducted by phone over a=20 28-day period, a PFAA spokesman said. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************