Airline merger could divide union ranks
DALLAS – The president of the AFL-CIO is worried that the merger of American Airlines and US Airways will trigger a costly fight between two unions over representation of airline ground workers.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says that instead of fighting over workers who already belong to a union, the two unions should call a truce and share representation of the airline employees. That way, he says, they could focus on organizing workers who aren’t union members.
Ground workers at American are represented by the Transport Workers Union, while those at US Airways are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.