Collective Bargaining at Magic Carpet Airlines: a Union Perspective

1. LFA (League of Flight Attendants) did many important things to prepare for the negotiations. For instance, they looked at wage, unemployment, and cost-of-living data from government sources such as the Monthly Labor Review. They made sure that they knew the financial history of MCA and kept their proposals within financial reach of the company. Something very smart that they did for additional sourcing was they mailed a survey to the 15 LFA members asking questions regarding wages, working conditions, and issues of concern to flight attendants. That helped them figure out that the flight attendants major concern was wage determination.

2. After finding out the flight attendants main concern, it helped the union figure out their primary objectives. The union’s primary objectives are to increase wages via a dtuy rig provision, and increased job security. They decided that their initial package would be very close to their final objectives.

3. The union’s strategies are to keep the union members informed of negotiation progress, by mailing a short letter after each bargaining session, explaining the issues discussed and the general content of any agreed-upon sections. They also sent out Negotiation Update newsletters every two weeks, telling flight attendants of their progress. Secondly, to get union members involved by making the slogan, “We make the difference and they make the money” printed off on pens, buttons, and T-shirts. They had them distributed to all members and to all passengers on selected flights. Third, Convincing the company that the union’s demands were serious, the negotiation team members did extensive research on both economic picketing and informational picketing, inquiring at all of their domicile cities as to what permits would be needed to picket. The union also mailed their Negotiation Update newsletters to each manager’s home address informing managers of the LFA’s preparations in the event of a future strike. And finally, settling...