Machinists

NWA Inc., the parent of Northwest Airlines, has received takeover offers from Los Angeles financier Alfred A. Checchi and from Northwest's machinists union, bringing the number of known bidders to four. Details about the bids were not disclosed. As previously reported, NWA has also received bids from Pan Am Corp. and Los Angeles billionaire Marvin Davis. NWA, based in Eagan, Minn., is the fourth-largest U.S. airline and has a strong Pacific route system and valuable real estate in Japan.

Boeing Co. is expected by analysts to ask 18,300 machinists to pay more for healthcare as the company begins final talks on a new three-year contract with its largest union. The two sides are meeting today at a Seattle-area hotel for two weeks of negotiations. The current contract expires at midnight Sept. 1. Leaders of the International Assn.

Boeing Co. expects delivery delays for its planes to exceed eight weeks, accounting for a strike's effect, time for suppliers to restart production and inspections of defective parts. The Chicago company, whose machinists started returning to work Nov. 2 after a 57-day walkout, has begun notifying airlines of their new delivery dates, a spokesman said.

The National Labor Relations Board accused Boeing earlier this year of illegally retaliating against unionized workers by expanding its facilities in a largely nonunion state, South Carolina. Republicans joined much of corporate America in denouncing the board's complaint, calling it a barely disguised attack on state "right to work" laws that make it harder for unions to organize. The questions raised by the board are legitimate ones. The problem is the remedy it has proposed, which would have the perverse effect of confining Boeing's growth to its home region.

Eastern Airlines began advertising for mechanics Sunday, but machinists union officials said the ads were merely ploys to lure striking mechanics over the picket line. "All of it is for purely psychological reasons," said Jim Lewis, treasurer of Machinists Local 702. "It's the same stuff they've been doing for years here: 'See if we can beat them down.' " Eastern took out ads in newspapers in 10 cities Sunday seeking mechanics to replace machinists union members who have been on strike since March 4. The Miami-based carrier was almost grounded when pilots honored picket lines, and the airline filed for bankruptcy protection four days into the strike.

Eastern Airlines slashed fares in half Wednesday on its almost-empty Northeast shuttle service in a desperate effort to lure back customers who have gone to other carriers since a machinists strike at the airline began five days ago. The airline, which has been virtually shut down by pilots who are honoring the machinists' picket lines, is operating only the hourly shuttle between Washington, New York and Boston, and three weekly flights to South America.