Tag Archives for labor.
United Airlines made big news this week by announcing they could lay off as much as 39% of their employees (which some media exaggerated as half).
Now American Airlines is preparing to send out WARN Act notices, too according to the TWU-IAM association which represents mechanics and fleet service workers at the carrier.
Passengers need a pilot contract because unhappy pilots mean massive delays and cancellations. But a pilot contract is going to mean the airline can squeeze more seats into regional jets. Either way, passengers lose.
One of the major issues of contention between American Airlines and its mechanics – that has prevented reaching a contract agreement and contributed to the airline’s poor operational performance – is outsourcing. American outsources less work than other U.S. airlines.
However the trend is for high value work to be done in house, and lower value work to be outsourced. That’s a trend that union mechanics aren’t going to be able to escape. Legacy American Airlines mechanics are in their mid-50s on average and are being promised job and base protection, so the fight is really about future workers.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
