U.S. Airlines Industry

1142 Words3 Pages

Labor Laws, Unionization, and the Workplace:
One of the major components of the United States economy is the airline industry due to its huge annual operating revenues. Generally, airlines are both capital intensive and labor intensive, which contributes to their significance in the economy. They are capital intensive because they need huge amounts of investment in facilities and equipments whereas they are labor intensive because they employ a huge number of people. Similar to many other industries, the United States airlines industry is facing the challenge of unionization. Many workers in the industry have chosen to use unions for collective bargaining and to help in extracting better wages and benefits. Moreover, workers use unions to obtain a share in ownership to an extent that strong unions in this industry are found among the leading airlines. Consequently, the role of unions in the United States airlines industry has increased in the recent past.
Union Relations in the U.S. Airlines Industry:
As previously mentioned, unions have become integral in the current airlines industry in the United States because of their role in promoting improved employee packages and giving them a share in ownership. Generally, the United States airlines industry has turned from being a glamorous business to losing over $60 billion in the past ten years (Saporito, 2012). While unions play a crucial role in employees’ collective bargaining process with the employers, unions in the airlines industry have had a significant impact on the well-being of the industry. The huge losses incurred by the industry in the past decade are partly because of the impact of labor unions. The turbulent times brought by these unions and increased bankr...

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...kely to experience such demands from their unions. This will risk their future since the demands will not only be implausible but will also lack economic sense. Therefore, there is a need for changes in labor laws, especially those relating to the airlines industry, to help prevent unions from hurting business.
In conclusion, unions in the airline industry in the United States have continued to play a crucial role in protecting employees from harsh working terms and environments. In light of the recent incidents of bankruptcy in this industry, labor relations in the sector have continued to be adversarial. This is primarily because unions make implausible demands without economic sense, which continues to risk the future of the airlines and employees’ work. Therefore, labor laws in the United States should be changed to prevent unions for hurting businesses.

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