Posts tagged airline
Flight Attendant Receives Nearly $1,000,000 Following Ruling Against Airline and Union
April 28, 2026 // Carter’s case began in 2017 when she sued both the union and airline in the Northern District Court of Texas for firing her in violation of both the federal Railway Labor Act (RLA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Through private communications, Carter had criticized the TWU Local 556 president for using union dues to send flight attendants to the 2017 “Women’s March” and also panned the union’s support for a host of divisive political positions. Title VII protects against religious discrimination in the workplace, while the RLA guards the right of workers in the air or rail industries to criticize union leadership. Five years later, a jury found in Carter’s favor, awarding her a $5 million verdict. The District Court ordered Southwest (NYSE: LUV) and the union to give Carter the maximum amount of compensatory and punitive damages permitted under federal law, in addition to other forms of relief.
Union says US bailout of Spirit Airlines must protect employees
April 26, 2026 // The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents Spirit's ramp service employees, said any bailout must require "no furloughs, no layoffs, and no shifting the burden onto the very people who keep this airline running."
Sun Country and its fleet employees reach tentative agreement on first union contract
October 7, 2025 // Sun Country Airline’s 240 ground workers who handle luggage and guide airplanes at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport are on track to ink their first-ever union contract. The Minneapolis-based leisure airline and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement Thursday. Workers soon will vote on whether to ratify it.
Canadian government forces Air Canada, flight attendants into arbitration
August 17, 2025 // Air Canada and its striking flight attendants were forced back to work and into arbitration Saturday by Canada's government after an early morning strike stranded more than 100,000 travelers around the world during the peak summer travel season. Federal Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said now is not the time to take risks with the economy while announcing the intervention. It means the 10,000 flight attendants will return to work soon.
Op-ed: Is anyone in charge of Los Angeles?
August 12, 2025 // LWithin days, the LA Alliance for Tourism, Jobs and Progress — whose $3 million budget comes primarily from Delta Airlines, United Airlines and the American Hotel & Lodging Association — filed paperwork to put a citizen’s-veto referendum before voters in 2026. (Plummer is among the small businesspeople listed as the measure’s official proponents.) It would take 92,000 signatures to reach the ballot, but just filing the referendum had an immediate impact: delaying implementation of the law’s first planned pay increase on July 1, to $22.50 per hour. Frustrated by the possibility that years of lobbying could be wiped away with a corporate-backed campaign, organized labor launched a counteroffensive. In June, Unite Here Local 11 — which represents 32,000 workers across Southern California hotels, airports and sports arenas — filed a package of four ballot initiatives.
CANADA: Travel chaos as major airline cancels more than 800 flights after shock union strike
June 30, 2024 // WestJet will now continue to cancel flights to reduce its operating fleet from about 200 aircrafts to just about 30 through the weekend, as thousands of travelers try to get away before Canada Day on July 1.
Commentary: ‘Worker’s Choice’ Is the Way Forward
December 13, 2023 // Employees trapped in union contracts need true freedom in the workplace, or what advocates have long called “worker’s choice.” That’s why on Wednesday, Rep. Burlison will introduce The Worker’s Choice Act of 2023. It would give workers a real alternative to union membership. Under this reform, employees at unionized companies could still become union members with union contracts. But if they opt out of union membership, they would negotiate contracts directly with their employers, as workers at nonunion companies do. The legislation wouldn’t affect non-right-to-work states, where workers are still required to pay union fees. It also wouldn’t apply to railroad and airline employees, who are required by federal law to pay union fees, or to government employees, who would qualify for worker’s choice only via state law. Every worker would win under this policy. Those opting out of union membership could negotiate the contract that’s best for them.
American Airlines pilots weigh possible merger with ALPA union
November 14, 2022 //