Feb
14
2025
I don’t believe any company, in any industry, has paid out more cash profit sharing in nominal terms than Delta (ever).
Happening Now: Delta Pays $1.4 Billion Profit Sharing, Topping All Other U.S. Airlines Combined
unions
Tag Archives for unions.
Olympics Under Threat: Paris Airport Strikes To Cause Travel Havoc As Workers Demand Bonuses To Show Up
Jul
08
2024
Surprising absolutely no one, Paris airport worker unions have announced a strike to begin days before the Summer Olympics there. Starting July 17, these strikes come in advance of the July 26 Olympics start date, and demand an “Olympics bonus” for all workers from the government-controlled company that operates both Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports.
SAD: Airline Unions Band Together, Ask Government To Ban Better Air Travel
May
07
2023
Several air travel unions are going to the government, trying to get new air carriers banned, because they are… legal and competitive. They even cite offering a better, more compelling product to passengers as a problem. Regional carrier SkyWest created a subsidiary to run public charter flights under FAA Part 135 rules. This lets then fly planes with no more than 30 seats which have a captain that meets the 1500 hour rule but allows a co-pilot with fewer hours. The plan involved taking CRJ-200 50-seat regional jets and taking out seats. That’s actually great for passengers. And SkyWest planned to do this on poor-performing routes, where there weren’t that many passengers to begin with, like subsidized Essential Air Service routes. That keeps air service to small cities which are rapidly seeing flights dry up…
Thursday Was A Tough Day For Southwest Airlines Labor Relations As Pilots And Cabin Crew Protest
Mar
03
2023
Thursday was a tough day for Southwest Airlines employee culture. Flight attendants picketed the airline, while pilots walked out – again – on an employee rally, though possibly to their own detriment. They missed an incredible performance.
Do Airline Pilots Deserve To Make Over $300,000 A Year?
Mar
01
2023
Traditionally a pilot at a regional airline might start out earning less than $50,000 per year, but get hired on by a major airline and that goes up quickly into the six figures, and well over $300,000 for senior captains flying widebody aircraft overseas. Some earn over $400,000.
Yet we’ve heard a lot of complaining by pilots recently. Contracts are open for negotiation at American Airlines, Southwest, and United.
How Chicago Unions Make O’Hare Runways Less Safe
Jan
02
2023
One City of Chicago employee had two runway incursions in a single day and thanks to union rules wasn’t even fired. Indeed, not a single one of 5 city workers who drove vehicles improperly on O’Hare runways were terminated.
Why Airline Wages Rise, And Why Stock Buybacks Don’t Matter
Aug
19
2022
U.S. airlines agreed not to buy back stock until September 30, 2022 as part of their government bailouts during the pandemic. It would have been unseemly to pick taxpayer pockets and immediately turn around and distribute those same funds to shareholders.
Now that the buyback restriction is about to end, unions don’t want airlines to spend money that way, arguing that the funds should go into the operation instead (paying workers more, natch).
Raise The Pilot Retirement Age!
Jul
25
2022
The U.S. government imposes numerous rules to keep commercial airline pilots scarce. This is done under the guise of safety, but the rules don’t actually have anything to do with safety.
The problem is that more available pilots means less leverage for pilots unions, and since union contracts determine who flies which aircraft, which routes, and which schedules – and therefore how much a pilot gets paid – largely based on seniority, a higher retirement age while good for older union members is bad for younger ones.
In Revolutionary Move, Delta Will Start Paying Flight Attendants For Time Spent During Boarding
Delta has made a move that’s going to be a huge hit with employees, and engender jealousy across the industry. Flight attendants are getting a raise, and it’s coming in the form of addressing a real sore spot in compensation. This could keep unionization at bay, while trolling employees of their biggest competitors.
Flight Attendants ‘Forced To Work For Free’ During Boarding, And Over 100,000 People Demand Change
Feb
11
2022
There’s a big debate going on about whether flight attendants are fairly paid, based on the idea that they are generally paid only for the time flying and not for the time spent boarding an aircraft. A Change.org petition to change this has garnered over 100,000 signatures.
The petition rests on a fairly fundamental misunderstanding of how mostly-union contracts are bargained on behalf of flight attendants.
