American Airlines Union Relations

1495 Words3 Pages

Introduction
American Airline is a legacy airline, with a household name, that employed thousands, and demanded a dominate presence among other industry player. Labor unions play a critical role in the in the airline industry, and about half of all workers in the air transportation industry are unionized (Greenspun, 2010). This paper will provide a background on the current state of union relations in the airlines industry in the United States. It will then explain why Allied Association would risk the future of American Airlines with union demands and how this could affect other airline companies. Lastly, it will provide a brief summary.
Current State of Union Relations in the Airlines Industry
Apart from Delta, all major US carriers are …show more content…

Union bargaining power in the airline industry is significant because of the strike danger. A strike by a carrier’s pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, or possibly other worker groups, can shut down all flight operations. Unlike consumer durable goods, transport services cannot be stored or shifted in time. Federal aviation regulations, on the other hand, require an airline to operate with pilots who have specific training for and experience at that airline (Greenspun, 2010).
The APA has been adamant that the best way to have control over their own destiny is to put the rejection of collective bargaining process behind them and secure the claim. This will make APA the single largest stakeholder of American Airlines (Jean, 2012). As the airline tends to operate with fairly small reserves, paying out 115 percent of profits results in the airline seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and a federal judge adjusts the pilot union contract so that the pilots are back to collecting 95 percent of the new estimated profit figure (Nov, 2011). This cycle of union contract negotiation and Chapter 11 bankruptcy is one reason that the airlines lease rather than own airplanes (Nov, …show more content…

The machinist, mechanics, and fleet service have been trying to negotiate a new contract for over two years (Martin, 2014). Despite the changes the airline companies have undergone there are still challenges within the industry.
Several factors drive the recent culture of mergers within the industry; rising fuel costs, a labor-relations culture that originated from government regulation of U.S. airlines, a reactive instead of proactive strategic management business model, a high risk of substitute products as a strategy for growth that dominate the air industry (Martin, 2014). After years of struggling to stay proactive in a shifting market, because of labor demands, a new bankruptcy movement came over the industry putting other U.S airlines in jeopardy. In addition to American Airlines, several other airlines filed Chapter 11. The upsets labor difficulties have on fare and competition is the chief reason for the formation. Accordingly, as market circumstances change organization will more than likely reassess and modify priorities and alliance

More about American Airlines Union Relations

Open Document