NW Airlines attendants reject new contract

MINNEAPOLIS — Flight attendants at Northwest Airlines Corp. rejected a wage-cutting contract on Monday and threatened job actions if Northwest imposes a new contract on them — which could happen as early as today.

Association of Flight Attendants spokeswoman Corey Caldwell said the union expects Northwest to impose a contract today. If it does, she said the union would implement job actions that can include random work stoppages or a full-fledged strike.

“As soon as there are unilateral changes to the contract, that’s our go-ahead,” she said.

The vote was 55 percent against the new contract and 45 percent in favor.

“This decision is an example of the flight attendants’ determination not to watch their livelihoods be squandered by management,” she said. The union said it hoped Northwest would negotiate more.

Northwest already has permission from a bankruptcy judge to impose an earlier tentative agreement that 80 percent of flight attendants rejected in June. The airline said it would impose terms on the flight attendants, but did not specify when.