Amberton University

MGT 5193.e1

I have copied and pasted this article to eliminate the confusion and all the advertisements. If you want to see the original article, you are welcome to at https://www.inquirer.com/business/piedmont-airlines-flight-attendant-strike-vote-philadelphia-american-airlines-20211018.html 

The article is short but has some very good information that relates to negotiations. Being that the article is relatively brief, use additional outsource research to supplement your summary

The required template and assignment instructions follow at the conclusion of this article. Also, at the bottom, I have added some questions for you answer and incorporate into the summary

Business

Flight attendants at Piedmont Airlines are in the final days of a strike vote

Many of the workers are based out of Philadelphia International Airport and fly regional routes for American Airlines.

by Catherine Dunn 

Published 

Oct 18, 2021

Close to 360 flight attendants who work for an American Airlines regional carrier are heading into the last days of a strike vote this week over frustrations with low pay and stalled contract negotiations, union officials said.

About two hundred of the Piedmont Airlines flight attendants are based out of Philadelphia International Airport. The carrier is an American Airlines subsidiary that flies under the American Eagle brand. In addition to its PHL base, it operates a second one in Charlotte, N.C., and flies to more than fifty locations on the East Coast.

Between 2019 and 2020, Piedmont flew about 9% of all passengers boarding at PHL.

Contract talks between Piedmont and the flight attendants’ union have stretched out for three years. Strike ballots went out to union members in late September, and the votes will be tallied Thursday (October 14, 2021).

“We’ve worked the front lines of the pandemic, and we can no longer afford to work at Piedmont,” said Keturah Johnson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Local 61. “And this is the thanks we get — to continue to stall our negotiations.”

New hires making about $19 an hour, for seventy-two guaranteed hours per month, earn an average base pay of nearly $16,500, according to the union. Flight attendants in their fifth year have an average base of $24,287. That does not include other factors that can boost pay, like flying additional trips.

“Piedmont values the work that our more than 350 flight attendants do to take care of our customers and each other every day,” a company spokesperson said. “We are actively engaged in contract conversations with the AFA to ensure that our team members feel supported and valued and look forward to continuing our negotiations with the AFA in November.”

According to the airline, a “joint decision was made to pause contract negotiations” in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, and talks resumed in June.

American Airlines did not provide additional comment.

Johnson said wages are such a problem that the union set up food banks in crew rooms at PHL and Charlotte.

“It’s other flight attendants putting food inside to help each other out,” she said.

Along with higher pay, the union is pressing the company not to increase health-care costs. It is also trying to win provisions for lodging the night before a trip. These commuter-room benefits would help flight attendants, for instance, who live further away from the airport and need to report for work in the early morning.

Flight attendants have sometimes had to sleep in their cars so they can report for duty on time, and because they cannot afford another option, the union said.

A strike would not take place right away. The union would discuss the results with the company, and the National Mediation Board — a federal agency that mediates labor-management disputes for airlines and railways — would have to allow the strike to go forward.

Permission from the NMB to strike still comes with a 30-day cooling-off period, and the agency’s website says passenger service is rarely disrupted in the cases it mediates.

A decade ago, both pilots and flight attendants at regional carriers tended to earn low salaries, said airline industry analyst Bob Mann. But a pilot shortage in the 2010s helped drive up wages for that workgroup.

“On the pilot side, the market has kind of gone crazy,” said Mann, pointing to recruiting materials on Piedmont’s website, advertising bonuses of $187,500 for new captains.

“Now, on the flight attendant side, they’re seeing none of this,” Mann said. “So, you can imagine the frustration of that. It is not just this one offer. It’s a decade of seeing wage rates in the cockpit not being extended to them in the cabin.”

The AFA plans to announce the strike vote results Thursday during a picket at PHL, by the Terminal F departures section.

Johnson said her colleagues want to see change and “are very open and willing and ready to take the first step.”

Assignment Instructions 

Please show the topics listed below in your assignment and then address the topics.

The student will complete an article review in accordance with the required template located at the bottom of your syllabus and or in the course documents. The student will read and summarize the article over “Piedmont Airlines”: As stated below, Amberton’s virtual or physical library will be valuable in researching the article and identifying outside sources. It is imperative that the student exhibit analytical and critical thinking in this review. The student will also be required to use two outside sources when critiquing the article. An outside source is an additional source other than the article. The sources used will validate statements used during the critique. Please show your outside source(s) within your text as an in-text citation and at the end of the paper under references (See APA). It is imperative that the paper be written in APA format, seventh edition. If the paper is not written in APA format, there will be a ten-point penalty for not complying. The assignment will include a cover page, the article review, in-text citations, and a reference page. Please submit the articles in accordance with the calendar schedule. Outside sources that might be of help are the Wall Street Journal, Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Harvard Business Review, and Management Review. 

 

Article Template

Framework

Provide a general overview or background for the article.

Explanation of the Issues

Explain the major issues of the article

Evidence

Identify pertinent information in investigating a point of view or conclusion 

Influence of Context and Assumptions

What are the assumptions being made?

Student’s Position

What is your hypothesis or thesis of the article? 

Conclusions and Related Outcomes 

Based on the above criteria, what is your conclusion (implications and consequences?)

Reference

Doe, John (2022), Evaluating the importance of comparative advantage. Wall Street Journal, 

22, 2022…. etc.

Remember to adhere to APA format with this article

Dr. Tidwell’s Questions to consider. 

In any negotiating setting, it is important to get a good understanding of the situation. If you do not have a good understanding, chances are good, you will not make good decisions. Consider what is being demanded by the flight attendants. Is this reasonable? How do you know? For example, when considering pay, how much does this airline earn annually, how many assets does it have, and can they afford to pay their employees? What is the pay scale for other airlines for this position, and how do they compare? Remember that when considering another organization, it is important to compare an organization that is similar in size (for the sake of the article, you can just compare all airlines in the comparison regardless of size). What are the skills needed to do the job satisfactory? What are the working conditions? How much does the company need these employees? How much do the employees need to the company? These are just a few things that must be considered when going into a negotiation, and these topics apply to many types of negotiating settings. 

As you summarize the article based on the template, integrate these thoughts in your summary. 

· Based on the pay figures noted in the article, how much are the workers earning per week?

· Considering the statement from the article that is below in dark blue, how much are the employees being valued? Consider pay, working conditions, etc. Go online and find flight attendants that work part time at other airlines or find an industry average regarding pay. Then compare the amounts. 

According to the article and a Piedmont spokesperson, “We’ve worked the front lines of the pandemic, and we can no longer afford to work at Piedmont,” said Keturah Johnson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Local 61. “And this is the thanks we get — to continue to stall our negotiations.”

New hires making about $19 an hour, for seventy-two guaranteed hours per month, earn an average base pay of nearly $16,500, according to the union. Flight attendants in their fifth year have an average base of $24,287. That does not include other factors that can boost pay, like flying additional trips.”

If the organization is wanting to find a solution for this bargaining situation, why did talks break off when the pandemic hit? Didn’t the employees keep working?

Consider what the flight attendants are asking for? It is more than pay. From a management perspective, would you consider a trade off? From an employee perspective, do you see anything you would be willing to trade off? For example, the employees are willing to forego the free flights in exchange for more money and more benefits.