Like i said its a balance of power, and i dont know how to fix it, i dont have any answers really. Seems the Unions can do good , but also A LOT OF BAD. Just like corporations (like google, microsoft, etc) can do really good, and then theres some that do really bad (Enron).

My uncle flies for delta, and basically what the unions have done to the airline industry is bankrupt them. My uncle was flying 90-100 days a year tops, and making $350,000. Basically the unions kept saying they wanted whatever the previous airline contract was +10%. If AMerican negotiated a fat contract, then that meant when Delta came up they wanted American +10% or they strike. My uncle even told us in late 1999 that even in his opinion only the rich of the rich would be able to fly in the next 10 years.

Then 9/11 happened and basically destroyed any hope they had left.

In my view he was overpaid, the market didnt dictate his salary. He will argue otherwise, but he took a 40% paycut, they lost their retirement, etc when Delta went bankrupt. He still has a job, a job that still pays VERY WELL, but their company was losing money at the status quo, so restructuring was inevitable.

You had these huge airlines like American, Delta, Continental, etc all saying they wanted more and more money that it was impossible for them to make less money and still keep the same schedule.


Then someone like Airtran comes along after 9/11 and completely slaughters the majors. I bought stock in America West after 9/11 when it got down to $2 a share. They were a small airline like airtran, no huge unions bogging them down etc. I made a killing on them when their stock soared as rumors of delta and other airlines filing bankruptcy loomed.

those two airlines proved you could run a profitable company and compete with someone like Delta whose unions basically broke their own backs.