By Doug Cunningham

A ruling could come as early as this week on whether Mesaba Airlines flight attendants can legally strike. Bankruptcy Judge Gregory Kishel will decide that issue soon. In the meantime he’s blocking Mesaba from destroying union contracts and imposing its terms on the workers. Mesaba is a feeder carrier for Northwest Airlines, where flight attendants have ask a federal mediator to declare an impasse in talks. Thirty days after that is declared they can legally strike Northwest. Unions for flight attendants, pilots and mechanics at Mesaba say the law bars judges from blocking strikes.