April 30, 2002

Northwest Pilot's Union Leaders Endorse One-Year Contract Extension and Pay Increases

St. Paul --- The unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) representing 6,000 Northwest Airlines pilots voted today to endorse a tentative agreement for a one-year contract extension. The vote took place during a special meeting of the pilots' ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC) in St. Paul, Minn. The MEC will now submit the agreement to Northwest pilots for a ratification vote.

The tentative agreement provides a one-year extension of the current contract, from Sept. 13, 2002 to Sept. 13, 2003. A 10.25 percent compounded pay raise, consisting of a 4.5 percent increase on Sept. 13, 2002 and a 5.5 percent increase on Sept. 12, 2003, is part of the agreement. Airline management and the pilots union also agreed to begin “focused” negotiations for a new contract in January 2003, with a mutual goal of completing negotiations by the new amendable date of Sept. 13, 2003.

The MEC leadership will conduct a series of informational meetings at all Northwest Airlines pilot crew bases, plus Seattle, Tokyo, and Amsterdam before the beginning of the membership-ratification process. The schedule for these informational meetings will be announced via union communications as soon as possible.

The MEC's chairman, Captain Mark McClain, said, “This tentative agreement provides our pilots with interim pay increases while we prepare for focused negotiations beginning in January 2003. We remain committed to the goal of achieving a new contract that equals or exceeds those of our peers by the amendable date of Sept. 13, 2003.”

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s oldest and largest pilot union representing more than 62,000 cockpit crewmembers at 42 airlines in the U.S. and Canada.

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SOURCE: Air Line Pilots Association

ALPA Contact: Will Holman, 612-840-7749