CNN Today

Labor Disputes Brewing at Large U.S. Airlines

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NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's a scenario which could spell trouble if you plan to fly this spring and summer. The nation's four largest airlines now face possible strikes by union employees over ongoing contract disputes.

Mechanics at Northwest vote today on whether to authorize a strike. Talks resume next week. If no agreement is reached, a walkout could begin later this month.

American Airlines has gone to court to stop a work slowdown by New York-based mechanics, which forced the airline to cancel dozens of flights this week.

United and its mechanics continue to thrash out their next contracts. On Thursday, talks broke off with flight attendants over a promised wage increase.

LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: Delta Airlines' pilots already are pounding the pavement. They've set up what's called informational picket lines at nine U.S. airports hoping to gain passenger sympathy.

Earlier this week, Delta and the Airline Pilots Association asked federal mediators to release them from their failed contract talks, the next step toward a walkout. They're still waiting for an answer to that.

More now on that dispute, CNN's Brian Palmer is keeping watch at New York's LaGuardia Airport. Brian, what's new?

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good, afternoon, Lou. Yes indeed, Delta Airline pilots are indeed pounding the pavement at nine airports across the country, now that negotiations between the airline and the Pilots Association have stalled.

The issues on the table for the pilots revolve around job security. They also say that their pay increases should reflect Delta's profitability. Delta Airlines says that their pay increase offer on the table is fair.

Passengers, however, are concerned that delays and disruptions in service are -- are possible in the future, Lou.

WATERS: Brian, I question one thing. We just reported that these informational pickets are being set up to gain passenger sympathy. Now, you've mentioned the delays and the diversions and all the rest -- that Congress is even considering helping to put an end to. How in the world can pilots threatening to strike gain passenger sympathy?

PALMER: Well, first of all, what the pilots and the airline are saying is that this is an informational picket. This has nothing to do -- this is not a slowdown. This is not a strike.

They both asked to be pulled out of mediation. After that, there's a 30-day cooling-off period, after which -- that's when we talk strike. But the passengers now seem to be more concerned about the delays and the possible disruptions, which, again, have nothing to do with this informational picket. Lou.

WATERS: All right, so we have a ways to wait here before we know the final outcome of all of this.

CNN's Brian Palmer at New York's LaGuardia airport today.

Natalie, what's next?

ALLEN: Well, with airline employees threatening to strike, what should you do if you're holding a ticket, or planning a summer vacation?

Here to help answer that, Michael Miller, editor in chief of "Aviation Daily."

Michael, it sounds like a perfect storm of possible huge problems with the airline industry. How did we get here?

MICHAEL MILLER, EDITOR IN CHIEF "AVIATION DAILY": Well, there's been a number of factors that got us to this point -- and you're right, the analogy of a perfect storm, where there are basically multiple airlines where -- that are all having labor problems at the same time.

There are two airlines right now that have the potential of striking this month. One is Northwest Airlines -- within 10 days. The second is Comair, the division of Delta -- it flies out of Cincinnati and Orlando -- they could strike at the end of the month.

So -- but the factors that brought us to this point really are the fact that in airline labor, the unions are backed up against the wall, and they really can't do anything until the government gives them permission to go into that 30-day cooling-off period, and gives them permission to then have the strike afterward.

ALLEN: OK, we will continue to watch that.

In the meantime, people that are traveling are probably wondering, OK, how is this going to affect my trip? So, let's talk about that. What if someone is already holding a ticket right now? And then something happens where they are -- their flight just isn't there? Are they OK? MILLER: Well, there are two factors there. One is, if somebody is planning a trip right now, they need to really start watching CNN more and start watching the news more, because there's going to be a lot of decisions made over the next couple of weeks that will determine whether an airline is flying or not, or whether there could be a strike, or whether the president might step in.

So, watch the news for that. And anybody who already has a ticket -- those people -- usually they will be safe, because airlines will honor tickets from airlines that are on strike, but you have to think that there's going to be thousands and thousands of other people at the airport. If you wait until the last minute, you may not get on a plane.

So, if you're fearful of a strike, you may want to look into other plans. And those plans may be less convenient for you to do, but they may be the best choice.

ALLEN: Could this be a situation, Michael, if many of these problems don't get worked out, where we can see some real paralysis as far as the airline industry and people trying to get where they are going?

MILLER: Right. I mean, one of the issues that the airline industry is facing right now is whether the Railway Labor Act that governs all of these labor dispute is the right one.

Right now, it doesn't look like it's the best mechanism for solving all the problems that are out there. And as long as you have a structure that basically gives an incentive for airline labor to disrupt travel, which is currently the structure, there's going to be a lot more of these situations come up this year.

ALLEN: So, the bottom line -- if you got to go on vacation for -- please do go, but pay close attention to what's going on.

MILLER: Bottom line is -- if you take vacations, just plan it, but plan it carefully. By all means, get away from all the mess if you're in the middle of it.

ALLEN: All right. Thanks so much. Michael Miller, "Aviation Daily," thanks.

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