Minneapolis – Northwest Airlines Corp. pilots on Wednesday approved a package of deep pay cuts and other concessions that the carrier said it needs to reorganize successfully and emerge from bankruptcy protection.
About 63 percent of Northwest’s 4,800 pilots voted to approve the pact. Some union leaders had publicly called on pilots to reject the contract and hold out for a better deal.
Northwest has said the 5 1/2-year pact will save it $358 million a year. The union said the contract will not take effect until other unions ratify their own contracts.
Baggage handlers voted down Northwest’s wage-cut proposal, and a hearing is set to begin in bankruptcy court May 15 to determine whether Northwest can throw out that contract and impose its own terms.
The pay cuts for Northwest workers range from 11.5 percent for ground workers to 24 percent for pilots.
Pilots also took a 15 percent pay cut in late 2004.
