Head of pilots union says all unions at Northwest must take cuts MINNEAPOLIS (AP) =97 The chairman of the union that represents Northwest=20 Airlines pilots said that all labor unions will have to take cuts to ensure= =20 the airline's viability. The Air Line Pilots Association doesn't plan to=20 meet a July 1 deadline set by management to accept labor concessions. ALPA= =20 points out that Eagan-based Northwest has maintained a cash balance in=20 excess of $2 billion, so there "is not a sense of urgency or rush to=20 judgment required," ALPA chairman Mark McClain said. But McClain said labor= =20 unions and other financial stakeholders can't ignore the fact that=20 Northwest has lost $1.6 billion since early 2001. He said Wednesday that=20 the pilots will be "significant participants" in cutting Northwest's costs,= =20 but that it's premature to say how big of a cut the pilots will accept. In= =20 late February, Northwest executives asked the pilots union to consider=20 cutting pilot costs by $2.76 billion from July 1, 2003, through Dec. 31,=20 2009, which would include more layoffs and a 17.4 percent pay cut.=20 Northwest executives want to reduce labor costs by $950 million a year,=20 $442 million of which would come from the pilots. When Northwest faced bankruptcy in 1993, the pilots agreed to a 15.5=20 percent pay cut and changes in work rules that allowed the company to save= =20 about $365 million. Pilots received stock in exchange for the concessions.= =20 Union leaders are developing proposals for rewards =97 which could include= =20 stock, options or profit sharing =97 they'd like to see the pilots receive= =20 this time for making sacrifices to return Northwest to profitability. "We=20 are not latching on to any one or rejecting any one because it could be a=20 combination of deferred compensation mechanisms that exist," McClain said.= =20 The union's executive council will meet in mid-June to discuss cost-cutting= =20 options as well as future rewards. Leaders of Northwest's labor unions have= =20 been meeting jointly to discuss the labor concession proposals and the=20 company's financial condition. "We've got to gauge what everybody else is=20 willing to do," McClain said. Labor unions cannot stand alone in making=20 financial sacrifices, he said. "Everybody is going to have to step up," he= =20 said, including Northwest's management, banks, creditors and lessors. *************************************************** 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.cso.gov.tt TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************