ST. PAUL -- Northwest Airlines often does not fulfill promises, a key state senator said Wednesday, so lawmakers should not believe a pledge to retain most Minnesota jobs if the company becomes part of Delta Air Lines.
"Until Delta comes to the table and tells me that, I am not going to believe it -- period," Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, said. "Especially from Northwest Airlines."
Even if a Delta executive shows up, as expected next week, Murphy said he still may not believe the promises. Murphy said he plans to hold a series of Senate Transportation Committee hearings in the next few months as details emerge about the planned Delta-Northwest merger.
Other senators and labor leaders joined Murphy in expressing doubts about Northwest's comments in the weeks since the merger was announced.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty said there are "positive aspects" to Northwest's public statements about keeping jobs in Minnesota, but said he is awaiting the airline's formal plan.
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Even Northwest Vice President Ben Hirst, testifying at a Wednesday Senate hearing, suggested lawmakers talk to Delta officials to get answers to some of their questions.
Hirst said that most Northwest employees and customers will fare well.
Most state Capitol attention focuses on the expected loss of company headquarters in suburban Eagan. About 1,000 jobs could be lost, but Hirst said those decisions have not been made.
Northwest officials all along have promised to keep most existing jobs in Minnesota, including 517 at a Chisholm reservations center.
Federal officials must approve the merger, expected in the coming months.
When Delta and Northwest began discussing a merger, Hirst said, Delta had three requirements -- the airline would be called Delta, the Delta chief executive officer would be in charge and Delta would remain headquartered in Atlanta.
"We weighed them carefully," Hirst said, but Northwest officials decided the best decision was to merge. "The worst alternative for our employees and communities is to do nothing."
In the early 1990s, Northwest received state help to obtain financing. In exchange, the airline promised to keep its headquarters in Minnesota, a major hub operation at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and to maintain 17,000 workers in the state.
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"Northwest has met all its obligations," Hirst said.
But Murphy disputed that. He said the airline has dropped to about 11,000 Minnesota employees.
Sen. David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm, said he worries about reservation center workers, calling the center "the jewel of the airline." Hirst agreed, saying opening the center actually was his own idea.
Tomassoni asked Hirst how many job loses Minnesota can expect.
"To a certain extent, I will have to defer to Delta," Hirst responded.
Union leaders who have tried to deal with the mostly non-union Northwest echoed Murphy's sentiments, saying they don't trust the airline.
