The joint association of the Transport Workers Union and the International Association of Machinists have been engaged in lengthy and bitter negotiations with American Airlines. The main outstanding points of dispute involve healthcare and outsourcing maintenance and fleet service jobs. The workers have been demanding improvements in scheduling, benefits, and pay. Unions representing the mechanics have accused the airline of trying to outsource more maintenance jobs. The workers want anyone outside the TWU-IAM workforce banned from attending to any airplane domestically unless it is an emergency. Workers to attend any plane must come from the TWU-AIM workforce. The unions also wanted the percentage of the amount of work that could be sent offshore reduced. The mechanics sought changes in the current medical plans. Other demands the unions made involved vacation time and the payroll system.
There have been concerns that the union demands will financially impact the airline negatively. The airline has met the organizing efforts with a lot of resistance. It is concerned that successful workers’ unionization could lead to the collapse of the airline. American Airlines is the largest airline in the world. It reported pre-tax profits of $387 million in 2018. An agreement favoring the airline will see a growth in total revenue obtained per available seat mile. This is expected to increase pre-tax earnings. The economic pressures are therefore great. The unions represent more than 31,000 workers. A deal will include wage and work rule-improvements. It could oversee the integration of the separate US Airways and American Airlines staff into one group. The workers are still separate six years after the merger of the two carriers. After the two carriers merged, workers still operate on separate contracts. This makes it hard to reach a compromise leading to the long-standing impasse. Mechanics want better concessions partially owing to the large success of American Airlines.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The dispute between the mechanics and American Airlines has led to tensions that have resulted in accusations of illegal and unethical conduct from both sides (Hoopfer, 2019). The American Airlines cried foul that the mechanics’ unions were causing a purposeful slowdown in order to win contract talks. The purposeful work slowdown allegedly resulted in flight cancellations affecting the airline and its consumers negatively. The airline demanded compensation. In May 2019, the company sued the union for compensation accusing the mechanics for purposeful interruption of services. The unions denied these allegations. A temporary restraining order was issued by the court against the mechanics who maintained their innocence.
In another serious twist amid the dispute, an American Airlines mechanic was charged with purposefully damaging a plane in July 2019. Abdul-Majeed Alani was accused of sabotage amid the row between the mechanics’ unions and the airline. The Miami to Nassau flight cancelled departure following an error message reflected on the plane computer. According to a criminal complaint filed, the computer affected reports pitch, speed, and other data. A worker revealed a loosely connected tube that attaches directly to the plane computer and measures speed. A surveillance footage captured the accused conducting what appeared to be sabotage. When interviewed, the accused said that he was frustrated with the stalled talks between the airline and the union. He claimed that this had affected him financially (Shepardson, 2019). The complaint indicated that the man could have sabotaged the plane to have the flight ultimately canceled or cause delay so that he could obtain overtime.
One of the union’s complaint is the airline trying to outsource more maintenance jobs (Reed, 2020). The airline sees outsourcing as a way of covering increased wages. The employee action seems to be similar to the airline claim that mechanics are purposefully slowing down operations. This reason saw a U.S. federal court issue a permanent injunction against the union against illegal slowdowns. Following the alleged mechanic’s sabotage, the airline issued a statement reiterating its firm commitment to the safety and security of its travelers. The passengers were placed on another plane to get to their destination.
A deal has been reached in paper by American Airlines and the two unions representing the mechanics. The mechanics union and American Airlines Holding Inc reached tentative joint collective bargaining agreements worth $4.2 billion in January this year (Rucinski, 2020). The agreement offers more than 31,000 employees business field-leading benefits, wages, retirement income, work regulations, and job security. The agreements are subject to ratification by union members. The airline has been undergoing continued pressure to reach contract agreements with its workers. The long-running talks have been hostile at times with the carrier filing a lawsuit against the union. Under the new agreement, the workers will be protected from the need by the airline to outsource future maintenance work.
The negotiations have been exclusively carried out by the joint association of the Transport Workers Union and the International Association of Machinists and the airline. They have been lengthy and bitter in nature with the airline filing a lawsuit against the union amid the negotiations for illegal slowdowns. Third-party involvement has been minimal. In retrospect, little could be done to have this dispute solved faster and more amicably. Disputes involving unions and airlines are typically lengthy and often acrimonious. A similar dispute involving Southwest Airlines and its union took seven years to resolve. The matter was settled last year. These negotiations are usually fraught with flight disruptions and legal disputes. The agreement between American Airlines and the union brings to an end one of the most disruptive labor disputes.
References
Hoopfer, E. (2019). After sparring in court, American and mechanics unions to restart
negotiations. https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2019/09/04/american-airlines-mechanics.html
Reed, T. (2020). Is American Airlines Nearing A Deal With Mechanics and Fleet Workers?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2019/09/11/is-american-airlines-nearing-a-deal-with-mechanics-and-fleet-workers/#1d155f515fb6
Rucinski, T. (2020). American Airlines, mechanics union reach tentative $4.2 bln contract
deal. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/30/reuters-america-update-2-american-airlines-mechanics-union-reach-tentative-4-point-2-bln-contract-deal.html
Shepardson, D. (2019). American Airlines mechanic charged with alleged sabotage of plane
amid union dispute. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-american-airlines-maintenance/american-airlines-mechanic-charged-with-alleged-sabotage-of-plane-amid-union-dispute-idUSKCN1VR09O
