Catherwood LibraryILR School

A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an injunction barring a strike by flight attendants at Northwest Airlines Corp., which is operating under bankruptcy court protection. The flight attendants had sought the right to strike after Northwest, with a bankruptcy judge's permission, imposed pay cuts and other work rule changes as it reorganized. Northwest's other unions made pay-cut deals, but flight attendants rejected a negotiated agreement. The case put the union and the airline in a gray area where bankruptcy law and airline labor law intersect. All three judges on the appeals panel agreed with the result, although Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs wrote a separate concurring opinion.