[JURIST] A federal judge on Friday issued an injunction blocking a planned strike by flight attendants for Northwest Airlines [corporate website]. Urged to intervene by both the airline and the US Department of Justice (DOJ), US District Judge Victor Marrero set a Wednesday deadline for parties to determine whether continued talks on a disputed pay cut are possible. Northwest welcomed the decision [press release], saying it "remain committed to negotiating a consensual agreement with our flight attendants and hope to accomplish that goal in the near future." The Northwest flight attendants [union website; legal documents] said, however, that although the courts have stalled strike plans, flight attendants will continue to plan a work stoppage [press release, PDF].

In a filing [Reuters report] Wednesday the DOJ argued that a strike would violate the US Railway Labor Act [text; Wikipedia backgrounder] in addition to causing significant disruptions to the US air transportation system. AP has more.