Business
United airlines boast of being one of the largest airlines in the country with one of the largest fleets of aircrafts available. Due to the size of its operations the airline has hired a great number of workers. These workers have unions to lobby for their rights and better working conditions. One of the largest unions in relation to united airlines is the airline pilot association or ALPA as is famously known. This union lobbies for the labor rights of pilots and better working conditions for the pilots. The internal association of machinists is another union affiliated with united airlines. Its members are airline mechanics and technicians who handle technical aspects of the air line.
In 1985 the pilots working for united airlines under the umbrella of air line pilots association went on a strike which lasted 29 days and virtually paralyzed the activities of the airline. The union claimed that the CEO of the airline Richard Ferris was attempting maneuvers that would lead to breaking up of the unions.
The proposal of introduction of B scale rates for paying pilots caused a stir among the pilots and led to the air line pilots association calling all its members to strike in 1985. The result of the activities leading up to and after the strike led to an agreement between the union and the airline that the B scale pay rates for pilots would only apply to newly hired pilots of the airline. The internal association of machinists also reached an agreement with the airline for clearance of their dues which date as far back as 1994.
The current issue facing pilots and flight attendants at united airlines seems to be the issue of pay increment with regard to extensive working hours. The unions have been appealing to the airline to revise the pay perks of the pilots and flight attendants in accordance with increase in working hours.
Works Cited
Forty, Simon. United Airlines. Vergennes, VT: Plymouth Press, 2005. Print.
Preventing the next pension collapse: lessons from the United Airlines case: hearing before the Committee on Finance, United States Senate, One Hundred Ninth Congress, first session, June 7, 2005.. Washington: U.S. G.P.O. :, 2005. Print.
