The union had threatened to walk out at the end of the month. Earlier, Bush blocked a strike by mechanics at Northwest Airlines. Under the Railway Labor Act, Bush can delay a strike by 60 days and appoint an emergency board to recommend a settlement. But before Bush can officially intervene, federal mediators must determine that a strike would significantly disrupt interstate commerce and deprive parts of the country of essential transportation service. Delta officials had been lobbying vigorously for White House intervention to avoid a shutdown.
Unions resent the interference.
They say an emergency board favors the airlines, which aren't likely to negotiate in good faith because they are waiting to be rescued by the White House. It's just one more indication of Bush's unapologetic, pro-business, antilabor stance. They had sought a deal to surpass the standard-setting contract that United Airlines and its pilots ratified last year. The proposed Delta contract provides wage and benefit increases about 1 percent higher than United's. In the Northwest dispute, Bush's intervention with a presidential emergency board does not appear to have hurt mechanics despite the union's initial protests.