Frontier pilot fight may preview future of airline strikes

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

As the summer travel season heats up, so, too, are strike threats by pilots at Frontier Airlines, the ultra-low-cost carrier known for its wild critter livery. Though it’s the last U.S. airline to hammer out a pilot contract since bankruptcy stalked the industry, Frontier’s labor fight may inform how bigger airlines react when their employee contracts come up for renewal in the next few years.

The union, the Air Line Pilots Association, has been agitating for a new agreement since March 2016. The 1,200 pilots at Frontier say they earn 40 percent less than the industry’s prevailing wage. Even with such a persuasive case, it’s unclear whether the U.S. government will allow a strike at Frontier — or any other national carrier — to proceed. The reason? The industry consolidation that followed all those bankruptcies may arguably make a single strike too much for the U.S. economy to bear.

Airline employees are governed by the Railway Labor Act, which renders work stoppages more difficult because the law essentially requires government permission. Once granted, a president can further delay a strike by convening an emergency board to assess the parties’ complaints. The last national pilot strike was eight years ago at a much-smaller Spirit Airlines. That five-day job action accomplished its goal, exerting sufficient pressure on the company to land a contract.

Frontier is a national airline, having expanded in recent years from its former network, which was heavily concentrated in Denver. Industry observers are wondering whether this labor standoff is where the government will put down a marker. President Donald Trump, a former airline boss himself — thanks to the short-lived Trump Shuttle — could simply say no to Frontier’s pilots.

A strike is “a very real possibility until management agrees to pay pilots in line with industry peers.”

The union said talks with the carrier, joined by the National Mediation Board, or NMB, are at an impasse. The pilots asked the agency to release it from further talks, which would trigger a 30-day period that could lead to a walkout. That outcome is “a very real possibility until management agrees to pay pilots in line with industry peers,” Frontier pilots said Monday. But if the airline is counting on federal intervention, no such compromise from Frontier may be coming.

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[mn9driver]

1. The Railway Labor Act pretty much neuters airline unions

Even with a labor friendly administration, getting released to “self help”, as a strike is called, is nearly impossible and literally takes years. With Trump in office, there is zero chance that an airline strike will be permitted.

Management knows this. Under the RLA, airline labor contracts do not expire, they just become “amendable”. During negotiations, both management and labor must maintain the “status quo”, so wildcat actions or sick outs are illegal and can result in massive legal penalties.

Frontier has no incentive to negotiate in good faith. With their below market contract, they are making money every month this drags on.