Originally Posted by
Alpine Flyer
Unions being responsible for airlines going under is nothing but an old wives' tale told to scare the youngsters. Unions will recognize when it is better to lower conditions to keep an airline afloat and save unionized jobs.
You might want to read up on what happened to Hostess Bakery:
https://www.nationalreview.com/corne...y-james-sherk/(from November 2012)
Hostess — the maker of Twinkies, Ding-Dongs, and Wonder Bread — had struggled financially for years. It
lost over $300 million in 2011. The firm proposed reducing its benefits to stay competitive. Unsurprisingly Hostess’s unions balked. But after examining the firms’ books, the Teamsters reluctantly accepted the cuts.
But Hostess’s other union — the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union — would not.
The union went on strike. Hostess warned them that the strike would quickly bankrupt the company. The Teamsters
warned the Bakers the company wasn’t bluffing, but the union chose to keep striking. Hostess announced it had no choice but to file for bankruptcy. More than 18,000 employees will lose their jobs.
I distinctly recall the head of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union "Declaring Victory" when Hostess filed Chapter 7 and 18,000 people lost their jobs - most of them members of his union.
A pyrrhic victory if there ever was one...
Unions have their place. But they can also become destructive when they lose sight of the overall goal.