American Airlines Unionization

Labor Laws, Unionization, and the Workplace

The United States ' airline industry has a high unionization rate. The unionization rate is higher compared to other industries in the country. The relationship between the industry and the unions are driven by the labor laws which include the National Labor Relations Act. Employees have rights to belong to unions and participate in union activities without fear of retaliation by the employer. The unions in the industry have great power and play a significant role in determining wages and collective bargaining. The relationship has generated various problems and has seen various airlines being forced into bankruptcy by the actions of the unions. The demands put forward by American Airline’s Allied Pilots Association (APA) put at risk the American Airline’s future. The editorial informs that all companies around the country were facing hard times due to the recession which had hit the country and constrained profit margins. The recession situation had affected the companies, but despite the hard times, the union workers had not felt the impact and had continued to enjoy their pay and benefits as usual.

The unions have in the past been engaged in fights to get contracts which are largely improbable in various industries. When quoting the case Hyatt in Chicago, it evident that employees …show more content…
The demands have resulted in the resignation of David Bates as the American Airline’s Allied Pilots Association group president. Bates resigned as he felt that the offer the airline had offered was better compared to what the union was demanding. The demands were further indicated to be unachievable by the directive that allowed the airline to revert to an earlier form of contract that called for smaller pay rises with no stake in the company, and the revert was requested by the airline to the Federal bankruptcy judge (DeMaura,