LETTER 2
Subject: Revised Pass Travel Date for Pre-Merger
Northwest Flight Attendants
Reference: Section 20 - Seniority
September 20, 1989
Mr. Bruce Retrum
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
2850 Metro Drive, Suite 225
Bloomington, MN 55425
RE: Revised Pass Travel Date for Pre-Merger Northwest Flight Attendants
Dear Mr. Retrum:
As you know, prior to the Northwest/Republic merger, each company used a different date
for determining a flight attendant's date of hire and seniority date. At Republic, those
dates were tied to the commencement of training. At Northwest, those dates were tied to
first date on payroll as a Flight Attendant.
As a result of the seniority integration process and subsequent arbitration award that set
forth the combined, integrated flight attendant seniority list, all pre-merger flight
attendants (former Northwest and former Republic) were awarded their date of
commencement of training as a seniority date for seniority proposes as set forth in Section
10 [Section 20] of the NWA/IBT collective Bargaining Agreement. Former Northwest
Airlines flight attendants continued to have their date of hire (first date on payroll) utilized
as their date for longevity pay purposes and for pass travel purposes.
After the issuance of the integrated flight attendant seniority list, the Company received
numerous requests from pre-merger Northwest flight attendants to change their pass
travel date to their new seniority date (training date) so that they would be on equal
footing with former Republic flight attendants for pass travel purposes. The IBT has also
requested this change in pass travel date.
Although such change is not required by the seniority award nor the Collective Bargaining
Agreement, the Company, after reviewing these requests, has decided to issue new travel
authority cards as their seniority date on the new integrated flight attendant seniority list.
These cards will be issued and become effective in January, 1990, and will contain the
revised date for pre-merger Northwest flight attendants. However, pre-merger Northwest
flight attendants who worked in another position with the Company prior to becoming a
flight attendant will retain their earlier date of hire as their pass travel date. Former
Republic flight attendants will maintain the same date that exists on their current travel
authority card. Flight attendants hired post-merger will not be affected by this change.
For pre-merger Northwest flight attendants, there will be no change to their date of hire as
reflected on their Company ID card, nor any change to their longevity date for pay and
benefit accrual purposes. Such changes would be very expensive and burdensome from
an administrative standpoint, and would create significant record keeping confusion.
We believe that this change will help alleviate the perceived inequities in pass travel
priority within the flight attendant group.
Very truly yours,
NORTHWEST AIRLINES, INC.
/s/ Robert A. Brodin
Director-Labor Relations
RAB/lml