“It is said that in the event of a nuclear holocaust, only Cher and cockroaches will have enough resilience to survive. Perhaps the International Association of Machinists should be added to the list.” So begins an October 3, 2006article by TheStreet.com reporter Ted Reed that details IAM successes during the most volatile period in the history of commercial air transportation.
The article contrasted the IAM’s pension and job preservation strategies at United and US Airways with the self-destructive strike forced upon Northwest Airlines Mechanics by the leadership of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA).
“In bankruptcy, the IAM ‘managed to have a sensible defense in a bad situation, in contrast to the suicidal offensive effort that AMFA carried out’,” says Thomas Kochan, professor of work and employment relations at MIT Sloan School of Management. “The AMFA situation (at Northwest) illustrated the cost of a union coming along and arguing that it can do better than any other union.”
The complete article is available on TheStreet.com website at
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/newsanalysis/transportation/10312557.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA
