Judge delays ruling on Northwest Air strike

NEW YORK – A federal bankruptcy judge could rule by Monday on whether to bar Northwest Airlines flight attendants from a planned strike that could disrupt flights, a spokesman for the flight attendants union said Wednesday.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper heard arguments over a preliminary injunction to prevent any type of strike action, which the flight attendants plan to begin Tuesday. He also considered a request by the union to change the terms of a concessions deal the airline imposed.

“I think a cooling-off period would be of enormous value, but I have no power, unlike the NMB [National Mediation Board], to impose a cooling-off period,” Gropper said before he adjourned the hearing.

Rick Thornton, a spokesman for the Association of Flight Attendants, said the judge might issue his ruling in the case by Monday, one day before the strike is scheduled to start.

A Northwest Airlines labor executive said that strike actions by its flight attendants could cripple it to the point of shutting down.