Unions Flying High
Airline Labor Power in the 21st Century
$39.95
In stock
About the Book
Complex and closely watched, the U.S. airline industry has long been a stronghold of union labor. Airline unions function as democracies that organize strikes, raise concern about important safety issues, and back mergers that would not move forward without their support. They use their power to improve workers’ lives and to enhance safety, which can be threatened by corporate over-commitment to ensuring profits.
This book draws from the experience of Miami Herald’s former airlines reporter, Ted Reed, who offers an insider’s view of the unions’ victories, losses, and larger-than-life leaders. From the beginning of his career in the late 1980s, it was evident that covering the airline industry also meant covering the labor unions that represented nearly every group of employees. His 30 years of experience have spanned multiple major strikes and other union events, and the stories he shares are critical to understanding the role of labor organization in the airline industry.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
Ted Reed
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 217
Bibliographic Info: 48 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9269-2
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5457-7
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Preface 1
Introduction 7
1. A Newspaper Delivery Girl Makes News 15
2. This Stewardess Likes to Stir Things Up 21
3. This Union Has Always Punched Above Its Weight 30
4. The World Discovers Sara Nelson 37
5. Sara Saves the Airline Industry 44
6. Sara Fights Goliath at Amazon 53
7. She Wanted to Work for Hillary Clinton: Maybe She Did Better 59
8. In 2024, Flight Attendants Unite, UAW Helps and Sara Looks Ahead 66
9. Child of Brooklyn 72
10. Rock Bottom at Rikers 78
11. “The transit authority did not give a rat’s ass” 84
12. Mike Quill and the Strike Culture of TWU Local 100 92
13. Who If Anybody Won the 2005 New York Subway Strike? 99
14. Battling New York’s Organic Green Tea–Drinking, Neo-Liberal Hipsters 105
15. Transit Union Brings Tough Tactics to the Airline Industry 112
16. Jason Ambrosi Moves to the Left Seat 118
17. How the Allied Pilots Association Made the World Safer 123
18. How ALPA Fights for Airline Safety 130
19. U.S. Airways Leads the Parade to Bankruptcy 136
20. Saying No Is Easy; the Hardest Thing Is Getting to Yes 142
21. How Labor Enabled the American–U.S. Airways Merger 147
22. From a Freedom Flight to the Airline of the Stars 153
23. Sito Takes a Seat at the Table 160
24. “Going into a war zone, you’re not giggling” 165
25. Flight Attendant Leader Treasures Her Dad’s Union Pins 171
26. The Not So Strange Case of Laura Glading 178
27. Unions Big and Small Find Spots in the Airline Industry 183
28. Justice for Janitors Cleans Up at Airports 190
Chapter Notes 197
Bibliography 205
Index 207
