Union infighting should be spirited in CO-UA merger

Where United Airlines and Continental Airlines don’t have many routes that overlap, they do have unions that overlap and these unions are sure to be far more difficult to couple than will be the route structures.

Anyone who has been involved with airlines knows that union vs. union fights are far more down and dirty than any management vs. union negotiations.

Look at the TWA flight attendants who were left out to dry by their “brothers and sisters” of American Airlines’ unions when AA took over TWA. Look at the fraternal relations between the pilots’ unions at the old US Airways and the younger company that took them over, America West. Even the flight attendants are working under separate systems, years after the consummation of the merger.

Recently, with the Delta takeover of Northwest there was a very unionized airline that was taken over by a far less unionized airline. The workers of the newly married airline still haven’t held a vote on whether or not they want representation. Delta folk felt fine with a non-union workforce. Northwest workers don’t trust management to do anything for them at all.

Now Continental and United are marching up the merger aisle and they are both highly unionized. That not only means finding a way to meld the various unions together, but it means a battle over which union organization will represent which worker groups.

These power discussions will take place between workers who had totally different relationships with management. Continental Airlines management and workers could have been expected to get into a group hug. United’s workers have nothing good to say about their management.

You’ll need a scorecard to keep track of these issues and the ensuing warfare. So here is a basic outline of the Continental/United union situation.

Pilots
Both United and Continental are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association. They have already issued a statement that they are dedicated to working together through this merger process. Both airline are approaching their negotiations with their hands out. They want more.

Continental has offered its pilots a contract resembling the deal reached by Delta pilots immediately following the 2008 merger with Northwest. “That’s a good template, a good place to start,” Pierce said, noting that Delta pilots received $700 million in salary increases and $500 million in equity.

However, he said that for half of Continental’s pilots, the Delta contract represents a pay cut. Widebody pilots would get a raise to Delta levels, but 737 pilots would take a pay cut.

Pilots have already agreed on a framework for joint contract talks with management. That’s a start. Almost any new deal will be better for United pilots than what they have now, negotiated during three years of bankruptcy. Even the limitations on “regional jets” favors Continental’s current contract with regional jet size limited to 50-seats aircraft under the Continental contract and 70-seat planes with United’s pilot contract. Expect the airline to try and push the limit up 100-seat aircraft to allow them to employee more lower-paid regional pilots.

Flight attendants
International Association of Machinists (IAM) represents Continental’s 9,500 flight attendants

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) represents United’s 15,000+ flight attendants.

The flight attendant negotiations will be wild. United’s flight attendants definitely feel they were squeezed by United’s management. The Continental flight attendants feel a sense of accomplishment and teamwork in their work bringing Continental back from bankruptcy. Plus, their contracts are very different at the moment and there will be the inevitable battle for leadership of the union and whether IAM or AFA will rule the roost. My money is going on IAM.

Mechanics
The Teamsters union represents 13,000 mechanics at the two carriers.

Fleet service workers
IAM represents about 7,900 fleet service workers at United.
The Teamsters represent about 7,600 fleet service workers at Continental.

Customer service workers
The IAM represents 8,100 customer service agents at United.
Continental agents are not unionized.

In the inter-union battles for leadership of the new joined airline, I give the Continental union leaderships the benefits of having worked in a friendly and productive manner with management during their turnaround. That union management will probably be the team that takes over the merged airline workers.