Mechanics, cleaners and janitors at Northwest Airlines walked off the job on Saturday after labour talks failed to produce a deal to help the carrier cut costs and avert possible bankruptcy.
Northwest Airlines, which flies some 177,000 passengers daily and is particularly strong in the Midwest, said it would continue operations by replacing about 4,400 striking employees with 1,500 replacement workers and outside vendors.
But the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association said that the first US airline strike since 2001 would cause delays. "AMFA technicians who average 20 years of live experience on Northwest's fleet are being replaced by 1,500 people who in many cases have little or no live experience on the type of aircraft Northwest flies" O.V. Delle-Femine, the union's national director, said in a statement.
The airline, which has hub airports in Detroit and Minnesota/St. Paul, also flies 200 non-stop flights to Asia weekly, among other world destinations.
A Northwest spokesman declined to comment on any impact from the strike.
The Eagan, Minnesota-based carrier has said it needs $1.1 billion in annual wage and benefit cuts from its workers to restructure costs and avert possible bankruptcy. The carrier was seeking $176 million from mechanics.
Early on Saturday, mechanics had formed picket lines at the Lindbergh Terminal at the Minneapolis/ St. Paul International Airport, and mechanics were at each entrance handing out leaflets.
One 22-year veteran mechanic, who declined to give his name, said public response to the strike had been mostly positive.
Talks broke down at midnight EDT Friday (0400 GMT) after the end of a 30-day "cooling off" period. The union accused the company of bargaining in bad faith over eight months, saying the airline's best proposal would have cut more than half the AMFA jobs and imposed hefty pay cuts for remaining workers.
The labour group said its final counter offer would have met the cost cutting target and preserved jobs.
AMFA did not win the support of fellow unions at Northwest. The Professional Flight Attendants Association, which has been wrangling with the airline over concessions, said its membership has voted against allowing its leaders to call a sympathy strike.
The Air Line Pilots Association said it would also continue to work.
The International Association of Machinists, which represents other Northwest ground workers, has said bad blood with AMFA makes co-operation difficult. The association formerly represented the airline's mechanics.
Julie Hagen Showers, Northwest's vice president of labour relations and chief negotiator in the talks, said the airline would operate its normal flight schedule.
It is the first US airline strike since 2001 when pilots at Delta Air Lines subsidiary Comair stopped work for three months. Northwest's last labour strike was in 1998.
Several top US airlines have asked their employees for concessions as the entire industry grapples with soaring fuel prices and low-cost competition.
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