Airline Union Characteristics

From a historical point of view, the machinists’ union, IAM, can be considered to remain the most intransigent in labor negotiations. IAM is a cen­tralized union with bargaining units outside of the airline industry. As a union with strong, central leadership that generally controls ultimate deci­sion making in negotiations and concessions, there is a more consistent negotiating position through­out the union, and much less fragmentation due to local union authority. Mechanics are also less affected by either work stoppages or the fear of long-term unemployment due to bankruptcies of their employers since they are readily employable at other carriers or outside of the airline industry. One drawback to IAM is the fact that it represents significant numbers of much less skilled, or even unskilled, workers both within and outside of the industry. Aircraft cleaners and other ground employees, in some locations, are able to control the union. It is apparent that the interests of these disparate groups are not identical.

Pilots, 90 percent of whom are represented by ALPA, are all employed with the airline industry, and their mobility within the industry is seriously constrained by the seniority system employed on all airlines. They are also much more impacted by work stoppages or by car­rier bankruptcies since they have no comparable opportunities outside of the industry, or even within the industry due to the seniority rosters. Finally, local ALPA chapters have had much more autonomy than IAM and have been more amenable to concession bargaining on an indi­vidual carrier basis.

Flight attendants traditionally have had less bargaining power than pilots and mechanics. They were organized much later than the other two crafts, and they have been less unified. In the early 1980s, there were 11 bargaining units representing flight attendants. Their training is much less extensive than pilots or mechanics and, before 2004, there was no FAA certifica­tion requirement for flight attendants. In the fall of 2003, Congress established a flight attendant certification requirement under the Vision 100— Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. The Act requires that after December 11, 2004, no person may serve as a flight attendant aboard an aircraft of an air carrier unless that person holds a Cer­tificate of Demonstrated Proficiency (certificate) issued by the FAA.