AIRLINE INDUSTRY & EMPLOYEE TREATMENT IN U.S.   Term Paper ID:23132 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Impact of deregulation, ownership structures, restructuring & cost-cutting, wages, contracts, layoffs, diversity in hiring, gender. Outline.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Impact of deregulation, ownership structures, restructuring & cost-cutting, wages, contracts, layoffs, diversity in hiring, gender. Outline. Paper Introduction: HIRING PRACTICES IN THE AMERICAN AIRLINE INDUSTRY I. Introduction. A. Background. B. Problem. C. Purpose. II. Methodological Considerations. A. Airline Ownership Classifications. B. Airlines Included in the Examination. III. Airline Employment Practices. A. Recent Record. B. Employee Involvement in Downsizing Decisions. C. Employment-Benefits/Pay Trades. D. Contract Provisions—Discharges. E. Spec Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. During the remainder of the decade of the 198 s, bankruptcies, nearbankruptcies, acquisitions, and mergers saw the demise of many old lineairline companies. Damned if you do, damned if youdon't. C. Continental Airlines is a publicstand-alone company. Additionalpilot furloughs are anticipated at USAir, and such action is likely atContinental. United Airlines. USAir. Background. By the end of thefirst full year of deregulation, there were 349 such companies. 49). Employee Involvement in Downsizing Decisions. 33). D'Souza, D. In1991, as an example, Delta's average salary was $44, , with pilotsaveraging more than $11 , and flight attendants more than $33, .Delta pays top dollar even though none of the carriers employees, otherthan pilots and flight dispatchers, are represented by labor unions. American Airlinescut 5, positions in 1994. (1993, December). The airline is included in the foreign ownership participationclassification in this research. Under employee ownership, United management also has pressured theAir Transport Association Board of Directors to withdraw support forstriker-replacement legislation and other anti-labor proposals (Feldman,1995, p. The competition isfierce for employment at Delta-the ratio of applicants to hiresapproximates 5 :1. No such conclusionmay be drawn in relation to foreign ownership participation. (1994, 19 December). 388). As late as the mid-196 s, employees in the American airline industry almost always were whitemales. B. 49). British Airways holds an equity position in NWA,Inc. At Trans World Airlines, wealth was transferred from thecarrier's employees to the company's shareholders-primarily Carl Ichan. Atthe management level, the proportions at United are 31.2 percent female and21 percent ethnic or racial minority personnel. Delta is perceived by itsemployees as a fair dealer. 4. 3. Delta has managed this feat while absorbing employees acquiredthrough airline merger-Western-and route acquisitions-Pan American.Employees at Delta, an airline characterized by a traditional ownershipstructure, continue refer to the "Delta family"-this practice extends to anis followed by former Western and Pan American employees. (1995, 21 April). Trans World Airlines, however, illustrates the fact that not allairlines characterized by a traditional ownership structure, operate withenlightened employment policies (Becker, 1995, p. D'Souza, D. 7). Problem. Any job reductions among Unitedmechanics is accomplished either through attrition which also may involvethe transfer of retained employees to new locations (Burstiner, 1995, p.3B). Purpose.II. 2. K. Deregulation brought about a rush of newairline companies into the industry. A. Delta top management also has followed thepractice of reducing managerial compensation before ever asking employeesto either delay pay raises or accept pay reductions. Continental Airlines employsapproximately 37,8 persons. M. References Allied Pilots Association responds to criticism from somepilots by reiterating original position. American Airlines hasapproximately 1 2, employees. 35). San Francisco Business Times, 9(34), 3A-3B. The drive for diversity; thepresence of women and blacks in higher echelons and board rooms of U.S.airlines no longer is viewed as remarkable. Ethnic/Racial Diversity. Delta Air Lines has approximately 71,5 employees. In 1978, the last full year ofoperation prior to the initiation of deregulation, there were 248 airlinecompanies in the United States (FAA opens, 1985, p. American Airlines is a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of the AMR Corp. Approximately 2,5 of the 76, active airline pilots are onfurlough (Major, 1995, p. As a partof the purchase agreement, however, United employees accepted wagereductions in return for stock in the carrier. A. 34). Overall, one may conclude that employee ownership participation has apositive impact on a carrier's employment practices. USAir, the othercarrier examined in this classification, is characterized by employmentpractices that are worse than those of American, Continental, and TransWorld in the traditional ownership classification. The drive in American society for increased diversity in the workforce has affected airlines (Henderson, 1995, p. Similar charges to those madeagainst American have been lodged against Continental, Delta, Northwest,and United. Feldman, J. Accommodation of pregnancy-relateddisabilities on the job. Gender Diversity. H. American Airlines. Industrial and Labor Relations Review,49(1), 3-19. D. Henderson, D. Trans World Airlines is a public stand-alone company. Northwest Airlines employs approximately43, persons. (1995, September). AtUSAir, however, management, in spite of severely reduced pilot and mechanicemployment levels, continues to insist that the carrier is over staffed. Employment Practices At Subsidiary Carriers.IV. American Airlines, a company characterized by a traditional ownershipstructure, the most recent contract with the carrier's flight attendantspermits some reductions in employment levels; however, at a far slower ratethan had been envisioned earlier by American senior management (Feldman,1995, p. FAA opens new inquiry into overseeing of air safety. Employee productivityin all employment classifications has improved at Northwest Airlines. The employmentpractices of seven American airlines were examined. To the credit of the industry,new pilot hires in 1994 were 6.8 percent women. NorthwestAirlines experienced wide scale resignations in the wake of pay cuts andincreased workloads. The Organization of BlackAirline Pilots estimates that approximately 66 African American males and14 African American female pilots were employed by American carriers in1994 out of a total pilot employment level approximating 72, . G. Further, United proclaims a commitment to a harassment-freeworkplace. 6). A. The nearly 15 year since the completion of the deregulation programhave been financially turbulent for the American airline industry. B. This research examines employmentpractices in the American airline industry with an objective of assessingthe effects on such practices of airline ownership structure. Similarly,the employment practices followed by Delta Air Lines prevent the drawing ofa conclusion that a traditional ownership structure necessarily infers thata carrier will necessarily be characterized by negative employmentpractices. Airline Ownership Classifications. 6. The airline is included in the traditionalownership classification in this research. At Continental, several women pilots function atthe captain level. Delta Air Lines is a public stand-alonecompany. By early 1983, the industry had developed into one in whichapproximately six major carriers accounted for the bulk of the trunktraffic within the country, and two carriers, Pan American and Trans World,accounted for most of the international traffic on American flag carriers.The trunk line segment of the industry, as predicted by the opponents ofderegulation, had, indeed, become an oligopoly in a quite short period oftime under a policy of deregulation which was intended to increase thenumber of competitors in the industry. American, Continental, and Trans World among this groupof airlines fare badly in the assessment of employment practices.Northwest Airlines, one of the two carriers examined in the foreignownership participation classification is characterized by employmentpractices that are at least the equal of those of Delta in terms of thedifferential between positive and negative factors. Burstiner, M. The ten best companies towork for in America. 49). United made only a half-hearted effort in this direction, while the remaining major airlines didnot consider employee suggestions. Thesituation at Delta is especially unusual considering the heavy level ofunionization in the American airline industry. Methodological Considerations. B. Introduction. Northwest Airlines is a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of NWA, Inc. 28). Airline Employment Practices Mass lay-offs, pay cuts, and increased workloads were the results ofairline restructuring and cost cutting initiatives in the early-199 s(Jennings, 1993, p. Conclusion Among the traditional ownership classification, only Delta Air Linesfollows employment practices wherein the positive factor outweigh thenegative factors. Airlines Included in the Examination.III. Only 3.35 percent of all American pilots holding commercial orhigher certificates, however, are women. Thecharge made against the carriers in relation to their subsidiary regionaland commuter airlines is that personnel-particularly pilots-are hired whoare not required to meet the same quality standards as are pilot hires atthe trunk line level of these carriers. Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law,15(2), 335-41 . Labor contractsacross the airline industry will expire in 1996 and 1997, and the scorched-earth human resource policies followed by most of the major airlines in the199 s are not likely to be tolerated by employees this time around. Of these 2,5 pilots, 72 percent are fromjust four airlines-American, Delta, USAir, and American West. In settling an affirmative action case in 1991, Northwest Airlinesagreed to spend up to $4 million to accelerate both the hiring andpromotion of minority workers, to establish special scholarships for blackmechanic and pilot trainees, and to award back pay and promotions toexisting minority employees (D'Souza, 1995a, p. USAir discharged 2,5 employees in 1994, which brought thetotal to 9,5 workers released from 199 through 1994. HIRING PRACTICES IN THE AMERICAN AIRLINE INDUSTRYI. Findings Summary. is held by laborunions and other organizations the memberships of which are comprised ofUnited Airlines employees. The pilot and mechanic contracts at United Airlines permit nofurloughs (Feldman, 1995, p. Contract employees suffered most of the discharges; however, permanentemployees at many airlines were required to accept reductions in pay as acondition of staying on the job (Jennings, 1993, p. E. 5 ). In spite of pilot furloughs, however, Delta has a record of positiverelationships with the carrier's employees (Levering & Moskowitz, 1993, p.28). F. (1995, December). 1). Jennings, M. USAir is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the USAirGroup. 28). 48). 47). 51; D'Souza, 1995b, p. (1993, Spring). Ichan squeezed out of employee wages and benefits theequivalent of 15 percent of the takeover premium he paid in acquiring thecarrier. The most recent such criticism occurred in the wake of thecrash of an American Eagle airliner in icy conditions in December 1994-American Eagle is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines. Commuter-Regional Airline News, 13(23), 7. These airlines were asfollows: 1. References. In other instances, the combinedeffects of economic pressures and labor-management difficulties resulted inemployee ownership or partial ownership of some carriers. 5. Airline managers are having a difficult time in the mid-199 s injustifying the case for continued cost-cutting through personnel reductionsin the face of record profits (Feldman, 1995, p. Delta Air Lines. C. Specific Carrier Policies. Airline Employment Practices. Employment-Benefits/Pay Trades. A. Northwest employees also own a minority stake in the carrier. The testing trap. American has entered into a similar arrangement with thecarriers ground crew workers. (1995b, October). The Air Line Pilots Association reports that 2.95 percent of the43, pilots represented by the association are female (Henderson, 1995,p. Conclusion. 353). At Northwest, Assistant Chief Pilot Sandy Anderson is the first womanto attain that position at a major passenger airline in the United States(Henderson, 1995, p. Economic pressures and enhanced global competitioncaused many American air carriers to either form operational alliances withforeign air carriers or to permit foreign air carriers to acquire ownershippositions in American airline companies. USAir has approximately 46,2 employees. Delta, however, has experienced some difficulties with the carrier'sfemale employees (Schlictmann, 1994, p. Delta requires mandatoryleave for pregnant in-flight personnel on the grounds that such a policy isdesigned to assure passenger safety (p. (1995a, 25 September). 7. Since the carriers employees assumedownership control of the carrier in 1994, however, United has been hiringadditional pilots and flight attendants (Feldman, 1995, p. The 'low-hanging fruit.' AirTransport World, 32(12), 47-5 . (1985, February).New York Times, 1. Another positive employment policy followed by Delta is an effort toaccomplish all employment reductions through attrition as opposed todischarges (Levering & Moskowitz, 1993, p. By the end of the second full year of deregulation, however, somecarriers-many old line-had failed or were on the verge of financialfailure. Continental Airlines. (1994, Winter). KLM-Royal Dutch Airways holds and equity position in the USAirGroup. In other job classifications,however, the situation has changed, with approximately 5 percent of manyemployment classifications represented by female employees andapproximately 25 of these same employment classifications represented byethnic and racial minorities. Northwest Airlines. 29). BusinessWire, 12191355 Becker, B. The airlines deny this charge. B. 48). Surviving the cuts. Union rents as a source of takeovergains among target shareholders. United Airlines reports that females account for 42 percent of thecarriers total employment, while ethnic and racial minorities account for25 percent of the total number of employees (Henderson, 1995, p. Delta Air Lines furloughed 55 pilots in thesame year. Chief Executive,(1 7), 5 -51. Delta also pays better than any other airline. The equity of the UAL Corp. Northwest was forced to take this action not because the companydiscriminated against these individuals, but rather because of the legalliability generated by statistical imbalances in the airline's work force.This type of situation is one of the absurdities with which employers arerequired to deal in the contemporary social environment in the UnitedStates. The airline is included in the traditional ownershipclassification in this research. Delta conducts extensive interviews and gives potential employees apsychological test (Levering & Moskowitz, 1993, p. The airline is included in the traditional ownershipclassification in this research. Employment practices havebecome a major issue in the industry. The airline is included in the traditional ownershipclassification in this research. Onecasualty of this financial turbulence has been the bond of trust betweenthe airline companies and their employees. Theairline is included in both the foreign ownership participationclassification and the employee ownership or ownership participationclassification in this research. United Airlines, theonly carrier examined that is fully employee-owned, was characterized bythe best employment practices of all of the carriers examined. Ethnic and racial minoritypersonnel account for 8.3 percent of United's pilots. 29). Methodological Considerations Ownership structure classifications used in this research are (1)traditional ownership-publicly held by domestic stockholders, (2) foreignownership participation-an equity position held by a foreign air carrier ina publicly held American airline, and (3) employee ownership or ownershipparticipation-either completely employee-owned or an equity position heldby the employees of a publicly held American airline. E. Air Transport World, 32(9), 33-39. (1995, 12 June). Business and Society Review, (85), 26-38 Major airlines lead pilot hiring in April. (1995, October). In 1993, Northwest Airlines traded three-year wage concessions forsome degree of employee ownership (Feldman, 1995, p. United Airlines is a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of the UAL Corp. Among the major airlines, only Northwest and Trans World made adetermined effort to include employees in the restructuring decisions thataffected their jobs (Jennings, 1993, p. Schlichtmann, L. Trans World Airlines has approximately22,8 employees. Several major American carriers have been criticized for their hiringpolicies at subsidiary regional and commuter airlines (Allied, 1994, p.12191335). United Airlines leads in pilot gender diversity with 6.1 percentwomen, while Delta Air Lines has the lowest ratio in the industry-one-percent. Contract Provisions-Discharges. While the courts have upheldthe Delta policy on these grounds, judicial rulings also have held thatsuch a policy is not acceptable is it can be shown that airline's actualmotivation in adopting it was not a concern for safety but some animustoward the protected class. Conclusions.V. Airline Business,28-29. Following the take-over of the airline by Carl Ichan, employee wages and benefits declinedsubstantially. The airline is included in the employeeownership or ownership participation classification in this research.United Airlines employs approximately 76,1 persons. United states that the carrier is committed toproviding opportunity for career advancement to women and minorities, setsaggressive affirmative-action goals, and strongly promotes equalopportunity for all employees in the areas of recruitment, hiring andpromotion. Since that time,the airline additional pilots and flight attendants. Recent Record. Trans World Airlines. HIRING PRACTICES IN THE AMERICAN AIRLINE INDUSTRY Introduction Subsequent to the completion of the airline deregulation programalmost 15 years ago both the market structure and the ownership structureof the industry were transformed. United Airlines flying high, butworkers may be grounded. 28). At the beginning of 1993, employee-owned UnitedAirlines laid off 2,8 staff, half of whom held management positions.Continental Airlines furloughed 2,5 employees in 1993. 33). The situation continues to prevail to a great extent among seniormanagement and pilots at American carriers. Forbes, 156(7), 5 -53. Levering, R., Moskowitz, M. NorthwestAirlines, which has some degree of employee ownership participation as wellas some degree of foreign ownership participation, also was characterizedby favorable employment practices. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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