Union sues Northwest Airlines MINNEAPOLIS (AP) =97 The union representing Northwest Airlines flight=20 attendants is suing the airline to make sure it abides by the terms of a=20 1993 stock compensation agreement. The lawsuit was filed after Northwest=20 said Tuesday that it would pay cash to buy back the $226 million in=20 preferred stock, but said it would not decide until Aug. 1 whether it would= =20 buy back the shares this year. The shares have been held by ground workers= =20 and flight attendants since 1993, when they were given stock equal to a=20 dollar-for-dollar return on their concessions. ``Our members lived up to=20 their end of the bargain and we expect no less from Northwest Airlines,"=20 said Mollie Reiley, trustee of Teamsters Local 2000, which filed the=20 lawsuit in a New York state court. Each participating flight attendant=20 holds preferred shares worth between $7,000 and $18,000 covering the=20 compensation they gave up between August 1993 and July 1996. While=20 Northwest officials wouldn't comment on the lawsuit because they hadn't=20 reviewed the complaint, spokesman Bill Mellon said Northwest considers the= =20 repurchase an ``important obligation." Mellon said the company consistently has told employees that the repurchase= =20 decision will be made by the board of directors around Aug. 1. ``At this=20 time, no final decision has been made by the company," he said Tuesday. The= =20 1993 agreement sets up remedies if the Northwest is not in a position to=20 buy back the stock on Aug. 1, Mellon said. The first remedy, he said, is=20 the stock would begin to earn a quarterly dividend at 12 percent a year,=20 based on the $46.96 price. He said that dividend would remain in effect=20 until Northwest repurchases the shares. The second remedy would be that the= =20 three labor positions on the board of directors would double, with the=20 International Association of Machinists, the Teamsters and the pilots'=20 union each getting an additional seat. The third option would be for the=20 company to repurchase the stock in chunks as it has ``available cash,"=20 Mellon said. The Eagan-based airline has lost $1.6 billion since early 2001= =20 due to the slow economy, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a drop-off in=20 business travel and increased competition from low-fare carriers. Northwest= =20 has said it doesn't expect to return to the black anytime soon. *************************************************** 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/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************