Northwest Airlines has reached an agreement with the International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers (IAM) on a contract covering the airline’s customer service
and reservations staff.The IAM announced today that the agreement was ratified by a
majority of its members.

ÊÊÊ Northwest said it was pleased that its customer service and
reservations employees approved the new agreement. The airline appreciates its
employees’ recognition of the financial sacrifice needed to help Northwest
restructure successfully.

ÊÊÊ IAM-represented equipment service employees (ESE) did not
ratify the airline’s settlement offer for that group. Northwest said it was
disappointed by the outcome of the IAM ESE vote.

ÊÊÊ As a result of the ESE ratification vote results, Northwest
will be asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York
to proceed with the carrier’s Section 1113(c) hearing relating to the ESE
members of the IAM. The motion for a hearing, originally filed last year, was
deferred in January when the airline and the IAM reached a settlement agreement
on a new contract. Now that the ESEs have not ratified the agreement, the
1113(c) motion in regard to that group will be considered by the court. This
motion asks the court to reject the existing labor agreement with the IAM ESEs.

ÊÊÊ The temporary wage and benefit reductions, ordered by the
bankruptcy court in November, remain in effect for ESE employees.
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