ST. PAUL -- A union leader lashed out at state employment officials Friday after a hearing on unemployment benefits for about 1,600 striking Northwest Airlines mechanics was pushed back six days.
The state Department of Employment and Economic Development rescheduled the hearing before an administrative law judge for Sept. 27, saying that the attorney representing Northwest was not available on the original date of Sept. 21.
"This is outrageous. There are 1,600 families that are waiting to find out. ... It really looks like a political favor for Northwest Airlines," said Steve MacFarlane, assistant national director of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, the union representing some 4,400 mechanics, custodians and cleaners on strike against the Eagan-based airline.
A spokesman for Northwest didn't immediately return a phone message.
The case centers on whether the strikers based in Minnesota are eligible for unemployment checks.
State law doesn't allow workers who leave their jobs voluntarily to collect unemployment, said Kit Borgman, a DEED spokeswoman. But there are exceptions -- including catastrophic situations, workers already on medical leave before a strike and other cases. Workers who were locked out of their jobs also could qualify for benefits.
"The statute as it is written now, when you're on strike you're simply not eligible," Borgman said. "It makes it very difficult."
But Nick Granath, a lawyer representing the AMFA strikers, said he is confident the strikers have a strong case. He said DEED's comments and the date change show bias.
"It's really unconscionable, when you have a major strike going on, to be doing these kinds of maneuvers," Granath said. "The timing of this is especially atrocious."
Granath said unresolved unemployment benefits could weigh on strikers' minds and possibly influence the outcome of a union vote, if negotiators were to reach a tentative agreement.
Initial unemployment claims jumped in August as striking Northwest employees filed for benefits. Claims in the transportation and warehousing industries soared by 1,750; Oriane Casale, assistant director of labor market information, said most of that was due to the strike.
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