Originally Posted by olly

I have a pilot centric view on union & labor management and the fact is, Unions were put there for the simple purpose of creating a countervailing force to the massive Fiefdoms of Corporate America. It is a no holds barred battle and the Corporations, more often than labor, are the ones that go outside the boundary of the law as well as outspending unions 10:1 in political action/lobbying.

The era’s of Roosevelt & Truman did the most politically & legislatively to foster an environment that balanced the power of labor & management (union's days of balance of power). The resultant years (post WWII) the middle class grew significantly, and were some of the most prosperous years for the middle class.

Following the railroads' tin-plate millionaires, where railroad executives created holding companies, and looted them, Dem’s sponsored legislation to outlaw holding companies in the 1930’s. From 1938 until 1978, there were political and other procedures in place to limit airline corporate abuse, and many ALPA favorable rules & regs were created & enacted. (airline centric view here) Republican efforts in the 80’s to de-regulate them (airlines & holding companies) , enabled the fiascos of Lorenzo, Ichan etc.

The only thing that ever allowed the airline employees a fair shake was the political balance of power. It is no accident that most of the really bad things that have happened under the Republican's watch. Even with a Republican Congress, when Clinton was President, nothing really bad happened to the airlines. NWA was released & struck. The really bad stuff happened on the watch of both Bushes (Frontier, EAL, Pan Am) and with Andy Card at the helm at the White House (Bush II) and in DOT (Bush I). Bush II publically proclaimed “there will be no airline strikes on my watch”, at a presentation in Chicago in 2001/2002. Subsequently, when all the majors but AA went into BK, terminating pensions wholesale, the managements had no incentive to bargain in good faith, as they knew that the only pilot labor leverage was gone. I personally sat thru UAL BK hearings on R days in ORD in 2003, and witnessed Judge Wedoff, Republican appointee; grant ual heinous and incredibly unfair terms in restructuring labor issues, as well as many other corporate favorable decisions. The union was powerless under the political situation, and was forced into pay and working conditions of the early 1990's.

Lead BK attorney, Jamie Spaygreen, admitted in a public documentary (years after the fact) the intent to terminate pensions, was solidified by that political atmosphere. Andy Card told (during Bush II) told Andy Reid CEO of DAL, to just go into BK & terminate your pension plans- as a means of restructuring.

Dems (Miller-Rangel) produced legislation HR 2830, to provide relief for workers (at teh bequest of active unions) , but was blocked by R’s in a procedural process. Congressman Boehner (2005) shepparded the bill thru rewrite- removing language that would demonstrably help the worker, and eventually the bill passed without helping the worker-but unburdening the corporations.

A great book is "Plain Speakin" by Merle Miller. It is not particularly well written, but it is an oral biography of Harry Truman in Harry's own words. Truman’s statements in the venacular about transportation issues and Senate investigations is probably one of the most educational portions that every pilot should read. A number of speeches that Truman made in 1938 regarding the airlines and you can see all of history was repeated without the political support that was in place in the 1930's. If you go to the June 1938 Congressional Record and look up in the index the Truman references, you would not believe the similarities in the periods.

You might also want to read "Modern Corporations and Private Property", by Berle and Means, 1932 it explains how hired management and their incestual Board treat the employees and shareholders like dirt and get away with it while enriching themselves.

Efforts to neuter labor, directly lead to public & private policy that will maximize corporate profits, & cement political power to their side in order to perpetuate favorable policy. In a utopian world, a strong company would reward the owners of capital & labor in a harmonious enduring business. Of course we live in reality, where capital is king, and organized labor- gets in the way.

Which goes back to the precept that- , Unions were put there for the simple purpose of creating a countervailing force to the massive Fiefdoms of Corporate America.