US Dept. of Justice yesterday waded into the dispute between Northwest Airlines and its flight attendants, arguing in a Statement of Interest filed with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York that the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA does not have the right to strike because the parties still are bound by the Railway Labor Act.

Last week, the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York overseeing the carrier's reorganization denied NWA's request to enjoin the attendants from striking (ATWOnline, Aug. 18). The union set a deadline of 9:01 p.m. Central time Friday for the start of unannounced, targeted actions.

In arguing that the court was mistaken, DOJ said that the US "has a vital interest in this matter" and warned that a strike "would cause serious disruptions not only to Northwest's operations, but to the air transportation system generally." It said that "neither [NWA or the AFA] has been released from mediation and the flight attendants' resort to self-help would therefore violate the RLA."

Meanwhile, flight attendants are offering passengers the opportunity to register on the AFA website to receive an e-mail warning if their flights might be affected by work actions scheduled to begin Friday. "Due to the nature of CHAOS, that notice may come at the last minute for some strikes," the union said. " We will endeavor to provide as much notice as possible but cannot guarantee that the notice will prevent all disruptions to your travel plans."

A schedule posted on the site indicated cabin staff would picket or distribute leaflets during the day Friday at Honolulu, Los Angeles, Memphis and San Francisco airports.