AMFA-Northwest Reach Tentative Agreement.

Agreement Would End Mechanics' Strike If Ratified By AMFA Members

DENVER -- The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) announced today that it reached a tentative agreement with Northwest Airlines (OTC:NWACQ). If ratified by AMFA members at Northwest, the tentative agreement will end the strike that began more than a year ago on August 20, 2005; if not, the strike will continue indefinitely. The precise voting period has not been set, but is expected to be about 30 days.

AMFA's negotiating team achieved some important gains over the terms of the December 2005 tentative agreement that was voted down by AMFA members after being imposed on them earlier by the airline. If AMFA members ratified the tentative agreement:

* Individual members could choose either to permanently resign from Northwest, or to go on layoff status with the possibility of being recalled to fill current or future job openings for aircraft mechanics.

* Members who decided to leave the company permanently would receive 10 weeks of pay in a lump sum, along with payment for any outstanding vacation accruals and, in some cases, additional benefits such as lifetime flight privileges.

* Members who agreed to remain subject to recall would receive five weeks of pay in a lump sum. They could also receive payment for any outstanding vacation accruals. These members would retain full seniority rights with Northwest with regard to job openings.

* Effective immediately and until the ratification voting process has been completed, Northwest will cease to fill open position for aircraft mechanics. If the tentative agreement were ratified, AMFA members who chose to remain subject to recall would be able to use their seniority in bidding for any job openings for aircraft mechanics.

* There would be 1.5 percent yearly pay increases for aircraft mechanics, beginning January 1, 2007.

* Northwest would no longer be free to change the terms of this contract and would stop contesting unemployment benefits. Last month, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that the mechanics deserved unemployment benefits, because the 25 percent pay cuts Northwest imposed on them effectively locked the mechanics out of their jobs. Since then, the state of Minnesota has paid almost $9 million to about 1,600 Northwest mechanics.

"We will present this tentative agreement to our members soon, so they can decide whether to continue or end the strike at Northwest," said Jeff Mathews, AMFA's national contract coordinator for Northwest.

AMFA represents more aircraft technicians than any other union and also serves United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, ATA, Horizon Air, Mesaba Airlines and Independence Airlines. AMFA's credo is "Safety in the air begins with Quality Maintenance on the Ground". To learn more about AMFA, visit: www.amfanatl.org.