Last US airline group to try this tactic was Eastern. That didn't work out so well.
I agree, the unions got the idea they were on a mission from God, the world couldn't do without them and they were going to trash the company to 'teach Lorenzo a lesson'.
'The Reverend' Jesse Jackson held a rally down at IAM headquarters on 36th Street during the Eastern strike. He was on a flatbed truck wearing an EAL captain's hat preaching to the choir with a megaphone. These union movements take on a religious zeal and get momentum but when you're being marched off a cliff maybe someone should stop and think about the big picture.
Remember how the FedEx folks were belittled for backing down in 1998 when they called off their pending pilot strike? They lived to fight another day and now they (and Fred) are making top dollar in the flying business.
I would suggest that going on strike is not the
pro forma ballet it was a couple of decades ago where there was a settlement, everyone came back to work and you got a pay raise and a 'return to duty' line check.
Anyway, I paid all the assessments for the EAL strike, went to their HQ on Virginia Avenue in ATL to help out, and walked the picket line in another ALPA carrier's uniform. I remember the 'hospitality suite' in MIA, was it at the Sheraton? It was the world's biggest party for the first few days...
Any of you sea lawyers know what the rules are if the AA BK judge imposes work rules under 1113? Status quo is gone so the APA can go into self-help and the company can hire replacements? Or is a strike still illegal while operating under the supervision of the BK judge before a trustee is appointed? Some of this stuff should be in the AIM by now.
