The Airlines and Organized Labor
Abstract
It became apparent that labor relations became a big problem for American Airlines when the pilots executed the sick out of 1999 because of the unfair business practices that American Airlines did by acquiring another airline and had a two tier wages. The union wanted a resolution and sometimes those are hard to come by.
Companies can be very productive if they have good labor relations with their employees.
When dealing with labor problems there many questions one must answer. How did you become aware that there was a problem? What goals, objectives, and tools/techniques did you use to frame the problem? What effects does this problem have on the organization? To what extent can this problem be solved? What are the causes and forces of influence? What measurements can be made to determine when the problem is solved? What defines the criteria for measuring a successful outcome? What alternative solutions can be identified? These questions can help identify, understand and solve the problem, if there is a possible solution.
American Airlines ' (AA) problems with organized labor, specifically the Allied Pilots Association (APA) in 1999, can be traced back to its actions in 1987 following the integration of Air Cal. In 1999; American Airlines pilots were involved in a sickout over the acquisition of Reno Air. The pilots had charged that American would not raise the salaries of the already lower paid Reno Air pilots and would begin to give routes to these lower paid pilots over the higher paid American pilots. Had American Airlines not already demonstrated this tactic with the Air Cal pilots, the American pilots might not have thought it would happen. It can be said that the integration of Air Cal is what brought American Airlines ' labor problems to the awareness of the United States public.
In order to better understand the problems facing American Airlines and its organized labor force, one must first frame the problem. AA and the APA
It became apparent that labor relations became a big problem for American Airlines when the pilots executed the sick out of 1999 because of the unfair business practices that American Airlines did by acquiring another airline and had a two tier wages. The union wanted a resolution and sometimes those are hard to come by.
Companies can be very productive if they have good labor relations with their employees.
When dealing with labor problems there many questions one must answer. How did you become aware that there was a problem? What goals, objectives, and tools/techniques did you use to frame the problem? What effects does this problem have on the organization? To what extent can this problem be solved? What are the causes and forces of influence? What measurements can be made to determine when the problem is solved? What defines the criteria for measuring a successful outcome? What alternative solutions can be identified? These questions can help identify, understand and solve the problem, if there is a possible solution.
American Airlines ' (AA) problems with organized labor, specifically the Allied Pilots Association (APA) in 1999, can be traced back to its actions in 1987 following the integration of Air Cal. In 1999; American Airlines pilots were involved in a sickout over the acquisition of Reno Air. The pilots had charged that American would not raise the salaries of the already lower paid Reno Air pilots and would begin to give routes to these lower paid pilots over the higher paid American pilots. Had American Airlines not already demonstrated this tactic with the Air Cal pilots, the American pilots might not have thought it would happen. It can be said that the integration of Air Cal is what brought American Airlines ' labor problems to the awareness of the United States public.
In order to better understand the problems facing American Airlines and its organized labor force, one must first frame the problem. AA and the APA
References: Cimini, Michael (1999); Profile of the American Airline ' Pilot Sickout; Compensation and Working Conditions, Winter 1999 http://www.triadcentral.org/mgmt/splan/projobj/index.cfm?printversion=true Foldvary, Fred (1999). Sickouts at Whose Expense? Editorial. Accessed October 25, 2005. http://www.progress.org/archive/fold77.htm Patkowski, Eric Hayes (1999). Pilots ' Union Sick-Out Grounds Airline, Judge Considers Hefty Fine. The Working Stiff Journal; Vol.2 #2, March 1999. http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~rjensen/vol2no2/pilots.htm. University of Phoenix. (Ed.). (2005). Critical thinking [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing. Retrieved October 24, 2005, from University of Phoenix, Resource, MGT/350- Critical Thinking Web site: