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NWA, union near deadline
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August 28, 1998: 5:08 p.m. ET
Talks progressing some; official says Clinton won't avert strike
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Representatives for Northwest Airlines Corp. and the Air Lines Pilots Association continued around-the-clock negotiations Friday in hopes of reaching an 11th-hour settlement to avert a pilots strike.
Meanwhile, an administration official said it was unlikely President Clinton would intervene to stop a strike.
Northwest's 6,200 pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) will go on strike if the two sides don't reach an agreement by 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
Kathy Peach, a Northwest spokeswoman, said the two sides made some progress overnight on vacation pay issues but that "compensation remains on the table."
"That's been the issue the two sides have been farthest apart," Peach said.
The St. Paul, Minn.-based carrier is offering a five-year contract with a 10-percent wage increase over the life of the agreement -- terms comparable to the 1997 contract covering American Airlines pilots.
The union, however, wants a three-year agreement and is seeking the equivalent of a 15-percent increase over five years. The two sides have been meeting on and off for about 20 months without reaching a new contract.
ALPA officials weren't available for immediate comment.
Peach declined to speculate on the chances of a strike, but she said Northwest is prepared in the event of a shutdown.
"We've got management employees deployed at airports to assist with re-accommodating passengers, we have hotel rooms blocked -- we're ready," she said.
On Wednesday, Northwest announced that it had canceled 400 flights scheduled to take off Friday and Saturday, regardless of whether a strike takes place.
Meanwhile, Amtrak has said it would honor Northwest published fare tickets if a strike is called. To secure a positive space, call (800) USA-RAIL.
Clinton unlikely to avert strike
An administration official said it was unlikely President Clinton would intervene to stop a possible strike.
"The big question being asked is whether the president will get involved but I wouldn't hold my breath on that," the official said.
Clinton used his legal authority to send pilots back to work last year at AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines, but the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the disputes were different.
Arguments for Clinton not getting involved included that the two sides were still talking and that the effects of a shutdown at Northwest, the fourth-largest U.S. airline, would be more regional and less severe than at second-place American Airlines.
The official added that the intervention at American was not a precedent for Clinton to be involved in every dispute falling under the Railway Labor Act, which governs essential domestic transportation.
"For most of contemporary history...the deal was, 'Stay out of them,'" the official said.
ALPA president J. Randolph Babbitt sent a letter to Clinton Thursday expressing the union's disappointment with Northwest's decision to cancel the flights.
"It is ironic that Northwest management continues to call for your intervention in this dispute, yet is taking action which would exacerbate the very problem they call on you to resolve," Babbitt said in the letter.
The Department of Transportation said it was monitoring the situation carefully and providing information on the potential impact of the dispute to Clinton.
A spokesman for Labor Secretary Alexis Herman said she was also monitoring the situation carefully but had sent no message to either the union or the airline.
Northwest (NWAC) shares gained 2-3/16 to close at 30-3/16 on the Nasdaq Friday. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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