Airlines’ labor relations threaten disruption

Bill Knight column for 7-15, 16 or 17, 2019  

The skies might be friendly for U.S. airlines, but the industry’s labor relations aren’t.

United Airlines launched its “Fly the friendly skies” campaign 54 years ago, dropped it in 1996, then in 2013 revived the slogan.

If only the company would revive friendliness with its labor force.

But United’s not alone in boosting profits at the expense of workers.

            United, American and Delta airlines all face 21,000 members of the Unite Here, Teamsters, and Retail, Wholesale and Department Store unions preparing to strike. Every day, the workers provide cooked meals to thousands of passengers through contracts with airline catering divisions or subcontractors such as Gate Gourmet.

“The airline industry is making record profits, on the backs of deeply exploited kitchen workers who are forced to choose between paying their bills, relying on government assistance or even forfeiting medical care even while working overtime,” said says Unite Here President D Taylor. “We refuse to allow that to continue.”

Negotiations are taking place in 15 hub cities, from Seattle/Tacoma to Miami.

Weeks ago, Delta and American subcontractor airline Eulen America had hundreds of members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) stage a one-day work stoppage protesting alleged wage theft, bans on sick leave despite state laws, and company threats against pro-union workers. The cabin cleaners, baggage handlers and wheelchair attendants walked out in New York, Washington, D.C., For Lauderdale and Miami.

“Poor working conditions, intimidation, harassment, bullying and other anti-worker tactics have no place in our nation’s airports,” SEIU said.

American itself is sustaining a significant drop in its stock prices that some blame on tensions between corporate management and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represent about 10,000 aircraft mechanics there.

American’s share prices have dropped 24.9 percent since last Sept. 21, when a share sold for $43.88. As of last Wednesday, the price was $32.94.

“As long as labor issues continue to cause problems,” commented investment adviser Ken Trester, “I think the stock will keep falling.”

Bargaining involving a federal mediator stalled in April, when pay, health-care benefits and job security became the holdups, along with American’s demand to offshore mechanics’ work to South America.

“CEO Doug Parker and president Robert Isom have abandoned the bargaining table and instead have chosen a path which may lead to a lawful strike,” said TWU president John Samuelsen and IAM head Bob Martinez in a joint statement.

Airline workers are governed not by the National Labor Relations Act, but the Railway Labor Act, so they cannot strike unless a mediator declares an “impasse” in bargaining.

The TWU has demonstrated strength, as pilot-simulator instructors at Envoy Air last month unanimously voted to join the union, following successful TWU affiliations by JetBlue flight attendants and Spirit Airlines customer-service agents.

As for American, the corporation filed suit weeks ago against the TWU and IAM, accusing them of conducting work slowdowns to gain leverage in contract talks.

Samuelsen denied it, saying, “American Airlines is trying to punish us for doing exactly what we are supposed to do: ensure that there are safe aircraft in the air.”

Southwest Airlines similarly sued its mechanics, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, claiming it had to cancel 62 flights a day in February, when 14 was the typical number. However, after the union counter-sued over defamation – and six years of negotiations – the issue was settled along with a new contract including a 20-percent pay raise.

Meanwhile, Delta demonstrated how some airline executives don’t appreciate workers’ lives, distributing anti-union posters such as one saying, “A new video game system with the latest hits sounds like fun. Put your money towards that instead of paying dues to the union.”

Of course, the employer didn’t mention that union members earn 13.6 percent more than comparable non-union workers; they’re more likely to have employer-sponsored health coverage, plus retirement plans, than non-union workers; and they have written agreements on wages, hours and working conditions.

“Unions are the only reason we have any protections at work or any ability to claim good jobs, and management doesn’t like that,” said Sara Nelson, head of the industry’s influential Association of Flight Attendants.

Anti-worker execs need to take off before they cause a crash.

Films’ futures tend toward pessimism

Bill Knight column for 7-11, 12 or 13, 2019

Looking back at Hollywood looking ahead is as timely as marking the July 12 birthday of the late, great futurist Buckminster Fuller, inventor of the geodesic dome, the Dymaxion car and “synergetics,” and a one-time resident of Carbondale.

Fuller was an optimist, thinking technology could save the planet, but movies tend to be more “Handmaid’s Tale” and “Walking Dead” than “The Jetsons” or “Tomorrowland.”

“The Future” has been with movies since the beginning, so to speak. Filmmakers’ concepts of the future of civilization have been chilling and charming, with prognosticators offering doom or delights, hope or horror. There are adventures (“Flash Gordon”) and action yarns (“Logan’s Run”), dramas (“A Clockwork Orange”) and fantasies (“Barbarella”).

H.G. Wells’ classics provided some fodder (“The Time Machine”), and there even was a light-hearted 1930s musical, “Just Imagine,” that’s worth watching. Steven Spielberg’s “Minority Report” effectively blended a grim future with technological wizardry and the same old weakness: human beings

Future films sometimes issue warnings (“Robocop,” “Demolition Man”), or present opportunities for stars to bomb (Kevin Costner’s “Waterworld” and “The Postman”). Near-hits range from “Rollerball” to “Death Race 2000.”

For now (and tomorrow, I guess), here’s a Top 10 list of Future films:

“A Boy and His Dog” (1976). Don Johnson stars in actor/director L.Q. Jones’ intelligent, amusing version of an award-winning Harlan Ellison short story. On a post-nuclear Earth, a young scavenger and his telepathic dog seek food and females. Jason Robards co-stars in the cult classic, which won a Science Fiction Writers’ Hugo Award.

“Fahrenheit 451” (1967). Filmmaker Francois Truffaut’s first English-language movie is a lean, tense adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s fine novel of a future world where reading is banned.          Oskar Werner stars as a “fireman,” a public servant assigned to burn books, and Julie Christie co-stars in two roles – as a book lover who teaches him to appreciate reading, and as the fireman’s wife. (Notice how the technology predicted in this decades-old film and book are remarkably accurate to the flat/plasma, interactive, reality-based crap that passes for entertainment now.)

“Metropolis” (1926). There are several versions of director Fritz Lang’s magnificent masterpiece, from inferior prints with bad soundtracks to a restored print with original footage. A son of an autocrat falls in love with a labor leader, Maria, who’s eventually replaced with a lookalike robot when the subterranean working class starts to organize against elites above. The screenplay sometimes feels thin or dated, but the imagery is stunning. A silent movie, its 1984 re-release has a soundtrack featured Giorgio Moroder music performed by Pat Benatar, Loverboy, Freddie Mercury, Billy Squier and others.

“1984” (1984). John Hurt stars in this great version of George Orwell’s look at a bleak future. Working in a totalitarian state where emotions are controlled, Hurt’s Winston Smith nevertheless falls in love. The fantasy (superior to a well-intentioned but flawed 1955 version) co-stars Richard Burton (in his last movie role).

“The Road Warrior” (1981). The best in the “Mad Max” series, this stars Mel Gibson, helping refugees through a post-apocalypse wasteland peopled by violent punks who seek fuel, food, women and anything possibly useful in a scavenger society. George Miller directed.

“Sleeper” (1973). From writer/actor/director Woody Allen’s zany (funny) period, this spoof is set 200 years into the future, when a man frozen alive awakens to become an unlikely rebel in a weirdly authoritarian society. Diane Keaton co-stars.

“Soylent Green” (1973). This cautionary tale of environmental degradation and despair is set in the early 21^st century (!) in New York, which has too many people and too little food, and police officer Charlton Heston is investigating the government’s new “solution.” Co-starring are Joseph Cotton, Chuck Connors and (in his last film) Edward G. Robinson.

“THX 1138” (1971). George Lucas’ first movie is an atmospheric, provocative expansion of one of his student projects at USC. Robert Duvall stars as a man in a future world where the government controls people by drugging them and prohibiting emotion. Donald Pleasance co-stars.

“Things to Come” (1936). Raymond Massey stars in this early effort to bring H.G. Wells to the screen. Released years before World War II, it shows a devastating world war that lasts for years, followed by a renaissance of sorts and a hi-tech space age. Ralph Richardson and Cedric Hardwicke co-star in the thoughtful movie.

“Zardoz” (1974). Sean Connery is a husky survivor in the year 2293, bred to be a superman of sorts, strong and bright. Captured by a group of “Eternals,” he searches for answers to his – and the world’s – condition. John Boorman directed the quirky, visually noteworthy fantasy co-starring Charlotte Rampling.

Debate post-mortem (to avoid being a ‘pre-mortem’)

Bill Knight column for 7-8, 9 or 10, 2019

Tying Scripture to political candidates might be a stretch, like consulting Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to change a lightbulb.

However, days after Democrats’ debates last week, a reading at church was from St. Paul: “If you bite and devour one another, take heed that you are not consumed by one another.”

Fortunately for Democrats, their initial debates were less about divisiveness than diversity, reminiscent of a recent progressive tribute/dinner I attended with the theme “Unify and Electrify.”

After glimpses of 20 candidates and before the next round July 30-31, a handful seem set for the third round in September, based on polls and financial supporters: Biden, Harris, Warren, Sanders and Buttigieg (in that order, according to Quinnipiac polling). Behind are Booker, Castro, Gillebrand and O’Rourke, all of whom must hit 2 percent in polls and have 130,000 contributors (up from 1 percent and 200 donors in 20 states this summer).

More important is a message. As Obama in 2008 reached America with one word, “Hope” –

which expressed a vision (whether verb or noun) – Democrats must communicate an idea and ideal. Besides the half dozen suggestions below, Dems might consider a similar one-word image:

“Better.”

Better (adjective or verb) conveys intentions and determination, comparisons and goals.

We need to picture better things ahead, not merely preserving the status quo – which fails most everyday Americans.

From debate performances, Buttigieg, Castro, Harris, Inslee, Sanders and Warren were hot; Booker, Gabbard, Gillebrand and Ryan were lukewarm; Bennet, Biden, Hickenlooper, O’Rourke and Swalwell were cold; and the rest question marks, at best.

Despite leading, Biden’s record has negatives, from 1984’s Comprehensive Crime Control Act and 1996’s “welfare reform” to upending bankruptcy law to the detriment of working people and the underprivileged, considering cutting Social Security, supporting war and backing the death penalty; Harris is proving herself to be formidable despite a past as a problematic prosecutor; Sanders isn’t the only progressive alternative this time and needs to distinguish himself (after all, 37 percent of Americans view socialism positively, Gallup says); and Warren, unlike most candidates for decades, should do more than remind us she’s knowledgeable about economics (without being a lobbyist or banker, a billionaire or a private-equity guru).

Again, both nights were mostly respectful, even in civil disagreement, without the schoolyard-bully name-calling typical of 2016’s GOP. That could help restore the coalition that historically has helped the party, and country.

Night 1 had Booker, DeBlasio, Inslee and Ryan at least mention workers, labor or unions, for example, and on Night 2, Harris ensured desegregation was discussed, and Sanders held his own. However, 35 percent of Democrats are paying close attention to the campaign, according to the National Opinion Research Center, a reminder that turnout could be as key as in 2016, when 100 million of us didn’t vote.

Despite candidates’ levels of experience and success, savvy and skills, some party insiders still whisper about “electability,” a code word for preferring some “safe” candidate – i.e., a white guy who won’t rock the boat. However, as both parties have seen with Clinton, Gore, Kerry, McCain and Romney, Americans WANT to rock the boat.

As to issues, a general feeling is the need to fight for regular Americans: populism. Candidates were broadly consistent, if varied in details, about the nation’s class struggle, economy, taxation and corporate power/corruption, about race, universal health care, immigration, war (thanks to Tulsi Gabbard), and climate change (kudos to Jay Inslee).

Six suggestions – Candidates must:

* note that the Presidency is not above the law nor above Congress or the federal court system in our Republic (especially concerning the power to wage war);

* learn from being right and wrong (in 2018, when challengers embraced Sanders’ ideas, and in 2016, when power brokers sabotaged Sanders – a dumb move less likely with internal reforms on caucuses and “superdelegates”);

* favor many small donors over big money;

* plan on attempted voter suppression, and promote free and fair elections (despite the Supreme Court’s disinterest in controlling gerrymandering);

* take nothing for granted (whether women, minorities, unions or rural areas) and campaign everywhere; and

* engage faith communities (as Buttigieg is doing).

The nation is 16 months from Election Day, so there’s plenty of time for candidates and voters to clarify. And unify. And electrify.

It can be Better.

Thank God.