The pilots are unlikely to strike anytime soon, however. Federal law makes it very difficult for unions to conduct strikes in the airline industry, and the last walkout at a U.S. carrier was more than a decade ago.
Just ahead of what could be a record-breaking summer travel season, pilots from one of the nation’s biggest airlines marched in picket lines at major airports on Friday as they push for higher pay.
Pilots at all three carriers are looking to match or beat the deal that Delta Air Lines reached with its pilots earlier this year, which raised pay rates by 34% over four years. United spokesman Joshua Freed said, “We're continuing to work with the Air Line Pilots Association on the industry-leading deal we have put on the table for our world-class pilots.”
The Delta contract that United pilots are using as their starting point will cost Delta $7.2 billion over four years. All airlines are dealing with rising labor costs, which could show up in the price of a ticket, but fares are also set by supply and demand, notes Blaise Waguespack, who teaches airline management and marketing at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
The National Mediation Board rarely declares a dead end to bargaining, and even if it does, there is a no-strikes “cooling-off” period during which the White House and Congress can block a walkout. That's what President Bill Clinton did minutes after pilots began striking against American in 1997. In December, President Joe Biden signed a bill that Congress passed to impose contract terms on freight railroad workers, ending a strike threat.
“They always have ‘work to rule.’ They could say, ‘We’re not working any overtime,'” Wheaton said. “I don't anticipate the pilots trying to screw up travel for everybody intentionally, but bargaining is about leverage and power ... having the ability to do that can be a negotiating tactic.”
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