Magic Carpet Airlines Case Study
Case Study – Magic Carpet Airlines
Week 4
September 22, 2013
1. What did the union do to prepare for negotiations? What additional sources of information might it have used? What were the union's primary objectives? The union began preparing by doing research to find out what other similar airline carriers were supplying for their flight attendants (i.e. average working conditions, benefits, and wage rates). They used government sources to compare wage, unemployment, and cost-of-living data. LFA already knew the financial history of the company so they decided to propose ideas that were within range of their situation. After doing some research, LFA decided to send out a survey to find out what the flight attendants desired in the new contract. The primary objectives were to increase wages via duty rig provisions and to increase job security.
2. What were the union's strategies and were they reasonable? The Union had four strategies to obtain their objectives. The first strategy was keep all the union members informed of the of the negotiation process. The Union sent out mailed letters after each session with a short explanation of what was discussed and an over view of what was agreed upon. Members also received a Newsletter every two weeks that highlighted what had happened. This was a reasonable strategy to keep the members educated on what was happening in negotiations. The second strategy was to get all the members involved in the process by handing out pens, buttons, and t-shirts with the slogan, “We make the difference and they make the money.” These were distributed to all members and some select flights. Their purpose was to get the message out that they were requesting better benefits and that they deserved them. This was a reasonable way to spread the word and to let all members know that the Union was working hard to get the flight attendants what they deserved. The third strategy was to
Week 4
September 22, 2013
1. What did the union do to prepare for negotiations? What additional sources of information might it have used? What were the union's primary objectives? The union began preparing by doing research to find out what other similar airline carriers were supplying for their flight attendants (i.e. average working conditions, benefits, and wage rates). They used government sources to compare wage, unemployment, and cost-of-living data. LFA already knew the financial history of the company so they decided to propose ideas that were within range of their situation. After doing some research, LFA decided to send out a survey to find out what the flight attendants desired in the new contract. The primary objectives were to increase wages via duty rig provisions and to increase job security.
2. What were the union's strategies and were they reasonable? The Union had four strategies to obtain their objectives. The first strategy was keep all the union members informed of the of the negotiation process. The Union sent out mailed letters after each session with a short explanation of what was discussed and an over view of what was agreed upon. Members also received a Newsletter every two weeks that highlighted what had happened. This was a reasonable strategy to keep the members educated on what was happening in negotiations. The second strategy was to get all the members involved in the process by handing out pens, buttons, and t-shirts with the slogan, “We make the difference and they make the money.” These were distributed to all members and some select flights. Their purpose was to get the message out that they were requesting better benefits and that they deserved them. This was a reasonable way to spread the word and to let all members know that the Union was working hard to get the flight attendants what they deserved. The third strategy was to
References: Lewicki, R. J., Saunders, D. M., & Barry, B. (2010). Negotiation: Readings, exercises, and cases (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.