Airline Mergers & Labor Relations

Introduction

Airline mergers are an integral part of the airline industry, with several mergers or attempted mergers occurring each decade. As with other industries, the merging of two separate and distinct companies causes employees to have questions regarding seniority, job responsibilities, and employee retention. In an industry that relies heavily on seniority and collective bargaining, unions are a large part of any merger discussions. In this assignment you will evaluate the role labor unions play in the airline merger process.

Instructions
Research the attempted merger between US Airways and United in April 2010. A simple Internet search of these key terms should return several relevant results from such sources as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
Consider the following questions as you conduct your research:
What role should labor unions play in merger discussions?
How should the protection of jobs be balanced with the potential savings in consolidating operations?
In the case of US Airways and United, who (such as management, unions, arbitrators, courts) is responsible to resolve the existing labor issues between US Airways ‘East’ and ‘West’?
How have other mergers (specific airlines that have merged) since this failed attempted resolved the seniority issue?
How has the ongoing merger conflict impacted US airlines and the unions?
Compose a brief argument paper that presents the role you feel labor unions should play in merger discussions. Provide evidence for your opinion by analyzing the US Airways/United merger attempt. Attempt to persuade your audience to agree with your opinion based on your evidence.
Your paper should adhere to the following guidelines:
There is no minimum or maximum page length; write as much as needed to analyze the issues and make the case for your argument.
This should not be written simply to answer the questions above. These questions are presented to help guide your analysis and prepare your argument. You may wish to consider other issues that may help build your argument.
Although you are trying to present your argument/opinion, do not write in the first person (e.g. I/we).
All facts that are not considered common knowledge should be accompanied by references using APA style; hence your paper should include a references/works cited page following the body of the paper.