[QUOTE=travelerjim]Northwest mechanics go on strike...

^ Northwest mechanics strike, airline keeps flying UPDATE from MSNBC...
Ailing carrier brings in replacement workers as part of contingency plan

Updated: 1:14 p.m. ET Aug. 20, 2005 AP

MINNEAPOLIS - Northwest Airlines brought replacement workers on the job Saturday after mechanics went on strike to protest big pay cuts and layoffs that would have cut their numbers almost in half.

The nation’s fourth-largest carrier pledged to keep its planes in the air, saying it has been preparing for the strike for more than a year and a half, including lining up about 1,900 replacement workers, vendor employees and managers to fill shifts.

While striking mechanics ridiculed the idea that Northwest could fly without them, there were no signs of disruption in the day’s flights at the carrier’s U.S. hubs in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit and Memphis, Tenn.
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9001752/ .