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Negotiators for Northwest Airlines flight attendants said Monday that they need to reach a deal "in the next few days" to preserve a $182 million claim in the airline's bankruptcy case, which could be worth up to $18,000 per flight attendant. Other Northwest unions have received claims as part of their concessionary labor agreements, but the flight attendants will be prohibited from securing their own unless they ratify a labor deal before the airline leaves bankruptcy in June. "Our goal remains to negotiate the best agreement possible and to preserve the flight attendants' right and opportunity to vote while there is still time to obtain the equity claim," Jay Hong, the union's president, said in a statement Monday afternoon.