...And Terrible Times For Contract Negotiations

If union airline employees thought they'd eventually regain wages and benefits conceded after 9/11's disruption of the industry, the sudden run-up in fuel prices may have them either rethinking strategy, or updating their resumes.

Reuters reports the six network airlines have watched their stocks collectively lose 75 percent of their market value in the past year as fuel costs have risen steeply and travel has slowed because of the economy. Some experts say the financial pressure on the companies is even worse than in the period following 9/11.

Gary Chaison, a labor expert at Clark University, follows the transportation sector, and sees a parallel between airlines and US manufacturing. "Most airline employees see the good days as over, like the auto industry," he said

Union officials, airline industry consultants, analysts and other industry experts agree that labor relations are deteriorating. Restructurings and bankruptcies in the last five years slashed the work force at the six big US airlines by a third, and thousands of workers lost their pensions.

Which makes the current economic climate a bad time for unions to renegotiate their labor contracts... but that's exactly the scenario facing pilots at American Airlines and Southwest, among others. Of those two, members of SWAPA are in an arguably better position, as Southwest at least continues to be profitable.

As for pilots at American Airlines, however, things appear bleak. ANN has covered the contentious battle between airline management and leaders of the Allied Pilots Association over the past year, as pilots have fought to bring their pay back to inflation-adjusted levels not seen since the early 1990s. With the airline recently announcing staggering losses, however, and massive cutbacks in staffing and capacity... few would bet on American's pilots getting even a fraction of that.

In related news, cutbacks at United are Wednesday's major headline, but Delta recently enticed 3,000 non-union employees to accept a buyout offer and leave their jobs voluntarily.

Patricia Friend, president of the union representing flight attendants at United, US Airways and Northwest, is philosophical. She says she won't accept more concessions, but admits she can't stop industry economics.

"I need to be at the table to try and protect the interests of my members," she said.

FMI: www.delta.com, www.swapa.org, www.alliedpilots.org, www.aa.com