Knowledge Builders

what are the three major topic areas in airline labor negotiations

by Prof. Cristobal Braun Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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In general, airline labor contracts include three major elements: wages, benefits, and work rules. Work rules generally refer to those sections of a contract that define issues such as hours to be worked and what work is to be done by what employees.Jun 13, 2003

What type of collective bargaining do airlines have?

industries, airlines typically bargain with multiple unions representing distinct occupations. industry-wide level. This decentralized bargaining structure has pros and cons, but, in any case, shapes the nature of the collective bargaining process. Collective bargaining is

Are long contract negotiations in Airlines preordained?

But long contract negotiations in airlines are not preordained. There is wide major carriers in recent years. Furthermore, t here is some evidence that these differences time of negotiations (von Nordenflycht and Kochan, 2003).

What is contract bargaining in labor relations?

Contract bargaining in labor relations is one of the most complex areas of negotiation and dispute resolution. There are rarely clear cut or mutually agreed upon notions of what a fair salary and benefits package would be, so employers and workers, either individually or collectively, often find themselves at odds.

What are the key parties in the air transport industry?

The industry network further as the Air Transport Association and the Airlin e Industrial Relations Conference. Finally, Transport W orkers Union and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Some unions Association). other key parties in their networks. Just a s airlines can benefit from investing in their

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What is the current situation of labor within the air industry?

The fall in employment is less than had been forecast in November 2020, which is due to government relief measures. Overall, labour cost is 18% lower than 2019 levels. Employment in the airline industry is expected to increase by 10.8% in 2022.

Can airline employees strike?

Labor Relations However, if mediation fails, airline employees have the right to strike, and can engage in more extreme tactics than other employees. They can, for example, engage in secondary boycotts such as going on strike to protest the behavior of an airline for which they do not work.

What are labor relations?

Labor RelationsA "bill of rights" for union members;Requirements for reporting and disclosure of financial information and administrative practices by labor unions;More items...

Why is the airline industry subject to the Railway Labor Act?

The purposes of the RLA are to avoid any interruption of interstate commerce by providing for the prompt disposition of disputes between carriers and their employees and to protect the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively.

What law governs relationships between airlines and their employees?

The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law on US labor law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, enacted in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration and mediation for strikes to resolve labor disputes.

What law governs labor management relations in the airline industry?

What law governs labor-management relations in the airline industry? The Railway Labor Act of 1926 (RLA), made applicable to the airlines in 1936.

What are the major issues in labor relations?

Important aspects cover wage settings, collective bargaining, employees' representativeness, safety and security needs, working hours and contracts. All these influence the policies and the labor market flexibility.

Which topic is generally covered in a negotiated labor management agreement?

Wage rates, hours of work, employee benefits, and job rights and seniority are issues covered in a typical negotiated labor-management agreement.

What is labor relations and negotiations?

Labor relations are the essential relationship between union labor representatives and management in the company. Identify the pros and cons of unions and learn about the processes of bargaining unit formation, contract negotiation, and contract administration. Updated: 12/01/2021.

What is a major dispute?

A. “major dispute” is a dispute over contract formation or amendment of a collective-bargaining- agreement (“CBA”).

What is the difference between the NLRA and the RLA?

The RLA governs the labor-management relations of railroads and airlines (the latter added in 1936), whereas the NLRA governs other private-sector industries.

Which of the following is the first step in a typical employee initiated grievance procedure?

Which of the following is the FIRST step in a typical employee-initiated grievance procedure? ANS: The employee discusses the grievance verbally with the supervisor.

Why are airline employees striking?

Why are workers striking? Amid labor shortages and inflation, airline employees in Europe, including pilots, are striking to demand better wages and more hiring.

What happens if your airline goes on strike?

When the airline or airport employees go on strike, the airline or airport can no longer provide the necessary services. Passengers can claim flight compensation due to a flight strike in two particular cases – a standard airline crew strike and a wildcat strike.

What are your rights if your flight is Cancelled due to strike?

If your flight is delayed or cancelled because of a strike, your airline has an obligation to offer you assistance if the delay is expected to go beyond a certain point. Assistance can include food and drink and overnight accommodation, if required.

Does travel insurance cover strike?

Will travel insurance cover me for an airline strike? As long as the strike was not planned when you either booked your trip or travel insurance (whichever came later), you may be able to claim through your travel insurance.

What was the first wave of concession bargaining?

During the first wave of concession bargaining, occurring in the 1980s, employers were reacting to the pressures of global competition, domestic nonunion competition, and deregulation by insisting that unions lower labor costs. New collective agreements frequently had wage cuts or freezes, changes in work rules, and reduced pensions. Concession bargaining became widespread in the airlines (among the older, legacy carriers losing in their competitive battles with the low-cost carriers) and in domestic auto making, and then spread to other industrial sectors. The first wave of concession bargaining eroded the foundations of the labor accord (the accommodation underlying the relationship between unions and employers), freeing employers to incite the ultra-concession bargaining that would appear around the turn of the next century.

Is Southwest Airlines unionized?

... Southwest Airlines, one of the most heavily unionized and also most technically efficient operations in the industry, may attest to this (Gittell, 2003). Chaison (2007) remarks how recent hardball tactics used by certain other carriers to pressure their unions into major concessions may raise operational problems for them over the long-term, by undermining staff morale, which is vital in a service industry like the airlines. Gittell et al. (2004) drawing upon previous literature in the field, note three additional avenues through which labor unions may improve the performance of an airline. ...

What is labor relations?

Labor Relations: Negotiating Collective Bargaining Agreements. Contract bargaining in labor relations is one of the most complex areas of negotiation and dispute resolution. There are rarely clear cut or mutually agreed upon notions of what a fair salary and benefits package would be, so employers and workers, either individually or collectively, ...

What is negotiation simulation?

Negotiation exercises and role-play simulations introduce participants to new negotiation and dispute resolution tools, techniques and strategies. Our videos, books, case studies, and periodicals are also a helpful way of introducing students to key concepts while addressing the theory and practice of negotiation and conflict management.

What is TNRC in negotiation?

The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) offers a variety of role-play exercises to help parties engaged in negotiations and labor-related dispute resolution hone their skills and prepare for upcoming contract negotiations. The Brachton Collective Bargaining Exercise focuses a traditional contract negotiation in which groups representing a municipal school committee and a teachers union must reach agreement internally on a range of contentious issues, and then negotiate with each other. In Costless Warehouse, an individual recently fired following accusations of embezzlement and his advocate face off against a large company, claim that the real reason for the firing was racial prejudice. In the MAPO Administration Negotiation, a police union and municipal representatives negotiate over salaries and benefits for police officers. Finally, in Collective Bargaining at Central Division union and management representatives in the telecommunications industry have an opportunity to move away from the traditional hard-bargaining that has characterized their relationship towards a more problem-solving approach to contract bargaining. PON faculty have used several of these role play simulations to help parties worried about upcoming negotiations to explore options for previous adversarial battles that led to strikes.

What are the lessons of mutual gains?

Major lessons of this exercise include: There are often legitimate differences within bargaining teams.

Is there a clear cut salary and benefits package?

There are rarely clear cut or mutually agreed upon notions of what a fair salary and benefits package would be , so employers and workers, either individually or collectively, often find themselves at odds. Furthermore, contract bargaining in a unionized setting is rarely limited to questions of compensation. Working conditions, safety concerns ...

Is there a legitimate difference between bargaining teams?

There are often legitimate differences within bargaining teams. These internal conflicts must be worked out before serious contact bargaining can begin.

What industry participates actively in the resolution of collective bargaining disputes?

airline industry and participate actively in the resolution of collective bargaining disputes.

How long does it take to negotiate with airlines?

Airline labor negotiations take 1.3 years, on average, to conclude, and about half go into Federal mediation; much of the variance in the duration of negotiations can be attributed to which particular airlines and unions are bargaining, not to economic conditions.

What is legacy airlines?

In the aviation sector, 'legacy' airlines have to make strategic choices about how they respond to the intensification of market competition that has taken place over the past quarter century. Gittell and colleagues argue that maintaining a high level of 'relational coordination' to ensure that business operations and work practices are integrated effectively is the most effective way for airlines to remain viable in the context of increased international competition ( Gittell et al., 2009 ). Airlines that have achieved this outcome, such as Southwest, have done so in part through positive work relationships built upon shared goals and mutual respect and coordinating business activities across different operational divisions to deliver airline services efficiently to the consumer market. ...

How does increased competition affect airline industry?

Increased competition within global airline industry initiates consolidation activities on entering into different modes of cooperative arrangements including, franchising, code share agreements, alliances, mergers and acquisitions. Selecting the optimal business model means implementation of sustainable competitive strategy as one of the key airline business challenges. Characteristics and trends in airline competition worldwide were analyzed by using correlation and regression metrics. European air transport competition analyzes include specific Southeast Europe topics. The liberalization of the Croatian air transport market has significantly affected the increase in demand in the international scheduled passenger traffic from the year 2004. Air transport in Croatia is growing much faster compare to the maritime and land transport sectors. A significant structural change in the aviation market due to the strong increase of low-cost carriers share in international scheduled traffic occurs. At the same time, the share of domestic scheduled and charter transportation is stagnating. Croatia Airlines in restructuring process provided in the period 2011-2015 recognized necessity to justify market position through optimal network strategy.

When was the relationship between government, airlines and employees?

Governments, airlines and employees: An evolving relationship from 1940-2010.

Is the airline industry failing?

Is it too much to expect airlines, or any other enterprise, to provide a fair return to investors, high-quality reliable service to their customers, and good jobs for their employees? Measured against these three expectations, the airline industry is failing. In the first five years of the twenty-first century alone, U.S. airlines lost a total of $30 billion while shedding 100,000 jobs, forcing the remaining workers to give up over $15 billion in wages and benefits. Combined with plummeting employee morale, shortages of air traffic controllers, and increased congestion and flight delays, a total collapse of the industry may be coming. Is this state of affairs inevitable? Or is it possible to design a more sustainable, less volatile industry that better balances the objectives of customers, investors, employees, and the wider society? Does deregulation imply total abrogation of government's responsibility to oversee an industry showing the clear signs of deterioration and increasing risk of a pending crisis? Greg J. Bamber, Jody Hoffer Gittell, Thomas A. Kochan, and Andrew von Nordenflycht explore such questions in a well-informed and engaging way, using a mix of quantitative evidence and qualitative studies of airlines from North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. Up in the Air provides clear and realistic strategies for achieving a better, more equitable balance among the interests of customers, employees, and shareholders. Specifically, the authors recommend that firms learn from the innovations of companies like Southwest and Continental Airlines in order to build a positive workplace culture that fosters coordination and commitment to high-quality service, labor relations policies that avoid long drawn-out conflicts in negotiating new agreements, and business strategies that can sustain investor, employee, and customer support through the ups and downs of business cycles.

Is Southwest Airlines a pioneer?

Southwest Airlines is a somewhat different example of a business model pioneer—and indeed, one may ask if the company is a pioneer at all: neither was Southwest the first to offer intrastate flights on its home market, Texas, nor was it the first to experiment with low-cost flights. But while the other companies were merely experimenting, Southwest developed a business model, which proved its sustainability over the course of more than four decades. By starting operations in 1971, Southwest faced from the very beginning harsh competition from incumbent airlines. This inspired the young company to create its very own business model—and unlike its main competitors at the time, the airline remains profitable until today. Winning this race made Southwest a prime example of a pioneer in the low-cost airline industry.

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1.Labor contract negotiations in the …

Url:https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2003/07/art3full.pdf

18 hours ago  · Because air transportation is such a vital link in the nation's economic infrastructure, a strike at a major U.S. airline may exert a significant economic impact on affected communities. Additionally, if an airline's labor and management were to engage in contentious and prolonged negotiations, the airline's operations--and customer service ...

2.Airline Labor Relations: Information on Trends and …

Url:https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-03-652

25 hours ago First, airline labor relations are reviewed in the context of extremely contentious negotiations, intense industry competition, complex and fragmented …

3.Airline Negotiations and the New Concessionary Bargaining

Url:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225824456_Airline_Negotiations_and_the_New_Concessionary_Bargaining

5 hours ago  · First, airline labor relations are reviewed in the context of extremely contentious negotiations, intense industry competition, complex and fragmented bargaining structures, frequent bankruptcies, and unpredictable external shocks.

4.Labor Relations: Negotiating Collective Bargaining …

Url:https://www.pon.harvard.edu/daily/teaching-negotiation-daily/labor-relations-negotiating-collective-bargaining-agreements/

19 hours ago  · Contract bargaining in labor relations is one of the most complex areas of negotiation and dispute resolution. There are rarely clear cut or mutually agreed upon notions of what a fair salary and benefits package would be, so employers and workers, either individually or collectively, often find themselves at odds. Furthermore, contract bargaining in a unionized …

5.Labor Relations and Human Resource Management in …

Url:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285331128_Labor_Relations_and_Human_Resource_Management_in_the_Airline_Industry

13 hours ago  · Percentage of employees represented by unions at major US airlines, December 2007 Sources: Airline Industrial Relations Conference and Airline Annual Reports ... But long contract negotiations in ...

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