Reviewing the editorial entitled “Not Just Public Unions: Private Sector Unions Hurting Business” written by Mr. Stephen DeMaura, the author presents the issue of American Airline (AA) pilots not receiving the support from the Allied Pilots Association (ALPA), the AA pilots’ union. The editorial describes how the AA pilots’ union failed them by “… rejecting a concessionary contract offered by management. The contract included pay raises and a 13.5 percent stake in the company… (DeMaura, 2012). In order to look at why ALPA refused a contract which the airlines’ management put on the table for the benefit of their pilots, a look at the state of union relations within the airline industry in the United States needs to be reviewed. Nevertheless, at the end of doing a review why ALPA refused such a contract, it was the relentless efforts of the pilots to fight for their rights which changed what would have been a bad outcome for the pilots if they would taken ALPA’s representation. …show more content…
Mr.
DeMaura, as well as the Centre for Aviation has found is that the airline industry’s wages are well above opportunity costs, and that the amount it would take to attract a sufficient number of qualified, trainable workers into the airline industry from what would otherwise be their alternative career paths. This was seen by the AA management and proposed the concessionary contract to compensate for the hard work and dedication of their pilots. However, the existence of union wages or tax cycles was not included in the deal, which was part of the refusal of ALPA. Unions would help organizations with contract concessions, but under the threat of or following
bankruptcy. Looking at the climate of the airline industry, union bargaining power in the airline industry is substantial because of the strike threat. A strike by pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, or other airline worker groups can shut down all flight operations. There are other ramifications why it is not lucrative for both airlines and their unions for their employees not go on strike like the transportation of goods and services which cannot be stored or shifted in time, affecting customers and transportation switches. Because shut downs are so costly, strikes are rare, but the threat of a strike gives unions the ability to capture wage gains for their members, or so we would think. Union density in the industry remains high following deregulation because this strong bargaining power makes organizing attractive to workers. Going back to AA and ALPA, in an article describing the current state of union relations of American Airlines, Sheryl Jean from the Dallas Morning News describes the “…. merger of American Airlines and US Airways could be a case study in the power of employees (Jean, 2013).” The reason the merger and the situation of AA and ALPA is a situation to review and use as an example in corporate human resources issues is that the refusal of ALPA to the concessionary contract offered by AA’s management created a bed climate within AA to the point that they were going to lose many of their pilots. Oddly, the real issue is not the contract, but the conditions of the new terms should American be allowed to institute them. Scheduling and time in and out of the cockpit are concerns. Less money for pilots is always a concern. Better pilots will move to other airlines for better wages and benefits.
I believe that the union and management did not fulfill their objectives and consequently reached a settlement that did not improve Zinnia’s future competitiveness in the market. Although the union and management initially agreed to focus on wages and health insurance, they bargained a contract that does not reflect their objectiv...
The case study of GMFC provides an example of a company attempting to avoid unionization of its workers. GMFC is expanding by building a new U.S. plant which will manufacture motorized recreational equipment. The company plans to hire about 500 production workers to assemble mechanical components, fabricate fiberglass body parts, and assemble the final products. In order to avoid the expected union campaign by the United Automobile Workers (UAW) to organize its workers, GMFC must implement specific strategies to keep the new plant union-free. GMFC’s planning committee offers suggestions with regards to the plant’s size, location, staffing, wages and benefits, and other employee relations issues in order to defend the company against the negative effects of unionization and increase...
The ethical issue in this situation is the willingness of the company’s director to prevent the employees from organizing in union. Among others, the company’s director try to use unfair tactic like diversion, intimidation, manipulation, termination of job contract and threat to shut down the company leading to massive loss of job. In an ethical standpoint, these tactics are wrong.
Tensions between union supporters and management began mounting in the years preceding the strike. In April of 1994, the International Union led a three-week strike against major tracking companies in the freight hauling industry in attempts to stop management from creating $9 per hour part-time positions. This would only foreshadow battles to come between management and union. Later, in 1995, teamsters mounted an unprecedented national union campaign in attempts to defeat the labor-management “cooperation” scheme that UPS management tried to establish in order to weaken the union before contract talks (Witt, Wilson). This strike was distinguished from other strikes of recent years in that it was an offensive strike, not a defensive one. It was a struggle in which the union was prepared, fought over issues which it defined, and one which relied overwhelmingly on the efforts of the members themselves (http://www.igc.org/dbacon/Strikes/07ups.htm).
The Qantas ‘engineers workplace dispute’ of 2011 was the result of workers demanding an increase in remuneration, the diversification of employment and an increase in job security in sight of Qantas’ cessation of workers for capital-labour substitution, and rising inflation. Which required Qantas to utilise negotiation of contractual conditions, grievance procedures for employee complaints, and tribunals for legislative arbitration. The engineers demanded a 4% annual pay rise (remuneration), new classification levels i.e. employment diversification, job security pay claims and to not be outsourced in a new EBA (Enterprise Bargaining Agreement) [1]. They pursued Qantas to achieve this log of claims, through the ALAEA (Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association) union in proposing that contractors be restricted, access to productivity improvements in technology be restricted, and that Qantas build a fully tooled and staffed heavy maintenance facility. These demands were what Qantas’ engineer labour argued as vital in being able to earn a sustainable long term income, as recruitment and selection processes in the modern era are extremely difficult and require
Wallerstein, M. & Western, B. 2000. Unions in Decline? What Has Changed and Why? Annual Review of Political Science. 3: 355-377.
Whilst it is evident that there is a decline in union membership, it is important to analyse why this is so and what the unions are doing to combat the downward trend. In attempting to tackle this issue, it is important to state the main objectives of a union that attract employees to join a membership and why the memberships are declining.
The unions were limited prior to the Civil War, there were limited efforts to establish a union by organized workforce at any scale, due to the lack of understanding of what a union represented. Meanwhile, the vast majority of the people who worked in rural settings, like the farmers faced deplorable conditions by working longer hours and were paid low wages. Women and children were paid very low wages, as well as men who barely made enough to live on or provide stability for their family. Business owners didn’t want fair pay for a decent day of work, company owners just wanted to exploit workers, men, women, children to work beyond eight hours a day, for low wages and no voice of opinion to anything.
The labor union movement over the years has shaped the way individuals work and live for both the nicest and unpleasant. Some would think the unions influence has created a power struggle between management and union leaders. In today’s time, some citizens insist the existence of unions are a must to aid in employee freedom, while others view the labor unions as just another problem in the line of progress. The purpose of labor unions was for employed workers to come together and collectively agree on fundamental workplace objectives. The rise of the union came about after the Civil War- responding to the industrial economy. Surprisingly at the least unions became popular within the 1930-50’s and began to slowly decrease, starting in the 1960’s on to today. Although, the popularity of labor unions has decreased, its importance remains to be evident with politics, journalism, auto, and the public education industries. The objective of this paper is to shine light upon labor unions, taking a closer look at the disputed issues of union ethics, concerns of union diversity, and the opposing viewpoints of labor unions.
Magic Carpet Airlines (MCA) is in the midst of a collective bargaining negotiation with a union and this paper will present the case from the union’s side of the bargaining table. First, one must understand the meaning of collective bargaining negotiations; this is when both sides of the negotiations discuss wages and others perks and then come to an amicable agreement. Collective bargaining is not a simple negotiation process, because the employer and the union usually meet on more than one occasion, due to the fact that union negotiators must keep their members informed during the process and they must also present any offers to their constituents for a yes or no vote to accept said terms being offered by the employer. The textbook offered the Magic Carpet collective bargaining as a case study and students were asked to analyze the issues being negotiated, determine ways
The paper will discuss minicases on ‘The White-Collar Union Organizer’ and ‘The Frustrated Labor Historians’ by Arthur A. Sloane and Fred Witney (2010), to understand the issues unions undergo in the marketplace. There is no predetermined statistical number reported of union memberships in this country. However, “the United Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) excludes almost 2 million U.S wages and salary employees, over half of whom are employed in the public sector, who are represented at their workplaces by a union but are not union members. Not being required to join a union as a condition of continued employment, these employees have for a variety of reasons chosen not to do so. Nor do the BLS estimates include union members who are currently unemployed” (Sloane & Witney, 2010, p.5). Given this important information, the examination of these minicases will provide answers to the problems unions face in organizational settings.
After the Civil War, many ideologies developed into the United States of America. Some of these ideologies included the free labor ideology and the producerist ideology. Free labor endorsed the belief that by removing slavery, or any other kind of barrier, everyone had an equal chance to try to get wealth (Farless). The producerist ideology tried to stay to the customary view of society and it stressed the importance of viewing the community instead of an individual (Farless). With these two ideologies, they had an impact on labor. By believing in the producerist ideology, people would be staying with tradition, and that leaves no change for our world. Many laborers wanted change, which led to problems for the laborers.
Warhurst, R. (1995) 'Converging on HRM? Change and Continuity in European Airlines' Industrial Relations' European Journal of Indistrial Relations 1(2) pp259 & p279.
Flanagan, R. J. (2005). Has Management Strangled U.S. Unions? Journal of Labor Research, 26(1), 33-63.
As a result of government actions in the period 1979 - 1987, influence of unions was permanently altered; with Thatcher’s manifesto promise to curb union power a priority, due to the fact that disputes caused work stoppages which were used “as a weapon of first rather than last resort”. The blame was laid upon “militant” pro-union legislation enacted by the Labour Party which allowed wage bargaining, leading to British companies becoming less competitive. Although there were weaknesses in the way the Conservative government executed its strategy to reduce union dominance, the fact remains that government was ultimately successful in handling industrial disputes of this time due to both strong leadership and the efficiency of ministers.