Both American and United airlines have major labor negotiations underway, so should travelers worry? No, any major flight-disrupting showdowns will not happen, according to the National Mediation Board.
“That’s the view of two long-time airline industry labor experts, one on each side of the bargaining table,” says a blog by the Wall Street Journal.
Russ Bailey, senior attorney at the Air Line Pilots Association, and Jerry Glass, a longtime negotiator for airline management, both said the Mediation Board is unlikely to set up any major labor confrontations while the economy is weak.
“The reality is our economy is in such a fragile state that the notion of the Mediation Board rushing through and creating the potential to put 70,000 or 80,000 people out of work – I don’t see it,” said Mr. Glass.
Airline industry labor disputes almost always fall to federal mediators to try to resolve once the two sides reach an impasse. Strikes or lockouts can happen only after the Mediation Board releases both parties into a 30-day cooling off period. Even then strikes can be averted by presidential intervention.
But most accounts put ARM Corp’s American and UAL Corp’s United as far apart in negotiations. In the past, airline workers have taken large pay and retirement cuts, so there will certainly be attempts to recoupr lost benefits.
By David Wilkening
