Already a member?
Sign in
| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2 2008, 9:39 PM EST (current) | jimglab | 481 words added |
| Mar 2 2008, 9:38 PM EST | jimglab |
Changes
Key: Additions Deletions
DL/NW merger – and others -- may be in trouble
After weeks of media speculation that a Delta-Northwest merger agreement was virtually a done deal, with the companies on the verge of an official announcement, the talk now is that the deal might be off -- or at least pushed back for an indefinite period until pilots from both carriers can agree on how to merge their seniority lists. As we reported last week, pilots’ union representatives from Delta and Northwest had been meeting for just that purpose; but they failed to agree, and now – according to the Associated Press – they’re not even talking any more. Delta was determined to secure a pact between the pilot groups before moving ahead with the merger, in order to prevent the grief that would come later if the pilots were still fighting over seniority lists post-merger – something that happened when America West and US Airways combined.
There were a couple of other bad-news items for airline consolidation from the labor front last week. First, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers announced it was teaming up with the consumer group Coalition for an Airline Passengers Bill of Rights (CAPBOR) “to oppose the potential merger of major U.S. airlines.” The Machinists group represents 170,000 airline employees, from mechanics and ramp agents to reservationists and flight attendants. CAPBOR founder Kate Hanni said that “combining two major airlines with diverse corporate cultures is a recipe for disaster.” Meanwhile, the Teamsters Union, which represents 3,800 mechanics at Continental Airlines, said it will oppose a Continental-United merger – said to be likely on the heels of a Delta-Northwest deal – “unless such a deal benefits workers at both airlines.” According to Teamsters president Jim Hoffa: “Most airline mergers are bad for passengers, bad for workers and good for top management. United has a track record of giving outrageous salaries to top executives while workers suffer. A merger would probably bring more of the same.”
Meanwhile, workers at US Airways last week blasted management for failing to meet employees’ concerns since the merger with America West three years ago. The airline’s labor coalition, representing all employee groups, picketed the airline’s headquarters in Phoenix, where they put up a 30-foot-high inflatable rat as a symbol of their grievances. The group said its members are “furious that, due to management inaction, we have become the poster child for what not to do in a merger.” Because management has not worked with labor groups in solving the airline’s problems, the group said, “employee morale is at an all-time low, our stock has plummeted, and our passengers are left literally holding their bags. Management’s quick-fix is to hire more executives and bunker down together to ignore these problems, hoping that they will resolve themselves.” The group represents 30,000 employees at US Airways.
