Will labor strife led by pilots become the airline industry’s next big obstacle?

Union pilots have been putting increased pressure on management after negotiations for a new contract were paused due to the pandemic. The last time Delta’s pilots negotiated their contract was in 2016 and renegotiation started in early 2019.  After it was paused, these pilots began to strike in hopes of a new contract. Now Southwest, American, United, and Delta have just started to renegotiate these contracts.  “Three of those four airlines have accepted some form of tentative deals, but American and United pilots rejected pay raises of 20% or more before the contracts could even go to members.” (Arnold, 2023) The airlines have blamed the effect of COVID for not renegotiating contracts, but it has been three years since the outbreak, and another four years before that, and they are just now coming to an agreement. 

I chose this article because I have seen first hand how these pilots are being affected by the renegotiations of their contracts. I’m a nanny for two pilots at Delta who have participated in many of these strikes in hopes for a new contract. With travel being at an all time high and these contracts still in process, pilots will not be motivated to pick up extra flights during travel peaks. This will not only be a problem for the airlines, but for travelers as well. 

 

References:

Archie, A. (2022, November 1). Thousands of Delta Air Lines pilots vote overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. NPR. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://www.npr.org/2022/11/01/1133033107/delta-airlines-pilots-strike-union 

Arnold, K. (2023, January 1). Will labor strife led by pilots become the airline industry's next big obstacle? Association of Flight Attendants-CWA - AFA United MEC. Retrieved January 15, 2023, from https://unitedafa.org/news/2023/1/04/will-labor-strife-led-by-pilots-become-the-airline-industrys-next-big-obstacle 

Article:

https://unitedafa.org/news/2023/1/04/will-labor-strife-led-by-pilots-become-the-airline-industrys-next-big-obstacle