group
What campus are you from?
Daytona Beach
Authors' Class Standing
Alexander Bryan, Graduate Student Arcenia Belo, Graduate Student Artur Mkrtchian, Graduate Student Celine Gao, Undergraduate Student, Dominic Lapine
Lead Presenter's Name
Alexander Bryan
Faculty Mentor Name
Sohel M. Imroz
Abstract
This project looks at how unions have shaped the performance of American Airlines over the last fifty years, focusing on pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics. The study reviews the ways labor protests and strikes affected company revenue, net income, and profit margins, while also considering the broader role unions play in sustaining airline operations. Instead of asking whether unions are simply good or bad for business, the research examines both the disruptions they create and the long-term changes they help bring about. Pilots have often taken action over contract disputes involving pay, retirement, and scheduling, sometimes slowing down operations but also securing agreements that stabilized the workforce. Flight attendants have raised concerns about issues such as safety regulations, long duty hours, and post-merger integration, bringing attention to working conditions that later shaped corporate and regulatory policies. Mechanics have protested outsourcing, safety standards, and “work-to-rule” slowdowns, actions that created operational challenges but also reinforced accountability for safety and maintenance. By comparing financial data before and after these union activities, the study finds that short-term disruptions are balanced by longer-term improvements in organizational performance and industry practices. Unions emerge not only as advocates for employees but also as forces that strengthen accountability and resilience within the airline. Overall, the findings suggest that unions, while often a source of conflict, have played a constructive role in shaping the trajectory of American Airlines and the wider aviation sector. This perspective highlights the importance of viewing labor relations as part of the airline’s long-term strategy rather than as isolated disputes.
Did this research project receive funding support from the Office of Undergraduate Research.
No
American Airlines: An Analysis on the Efficacy of Unions
This project looks at how unions have shaped the performance of American Airlines over the last fifty years, focusing on pilots, flight attendants, and mechanics. The study reviews the ways labor protests and strikes affected company revenue, net income, and profit margins, while also considering the broader role unions play in sustaining airline operations. Instead of asking whether unions are simply good or bad for business, the research examines both the disruptions they create and the long-term changes they help bring about. Pilots have often taken action over contract disputes involving pay, retirement, and scheduling, sometimes slowing down operations but also securing agreements that stabilized the workforce. Flight attendants have raised concerns about issues such as safety regulations, long duty hours, and post-merger integration, bringing attention to working conditions that later shaped corporate and regulatory policies. Mechanics have protested outsourcing, safety standards, and “work-to-rule” slowdowns, actions that created operational challenges but also reinforced accountability for safety and maintenance. By comparing financial data before and after these union activities, the study finds that short-term disruptions are balanced by longer-term improvements in organizational performance and industry practices. Unions emerge not only as advocates for employees but also as forces that strengthen accountability and resilience within the airline. Overall, the findings suggest that unions, while often a source of conflict, have played a constructive role in shaping the trajectory of American Airlines and the wider aviation sector. This perspective highlights the importance of viewing labor relations as part of the airline’s long-term strategy rather than as isolated disputes.