Unions and Wages in the Us Airline Industry

Labor unions play a critical role in the US airline industry. About half of all workers in the air transportation industry are unionized, 49.3% of workers being union members and 51.6% being covered by collective bargaining agreements in 2006. Apart from Delta, all major US carriers are highly unionized, while national and regional carriers include a mix of union and nonunion workplaces. In contrast, only 7.4% of US private sector workers were union members in 2006, compared to 21.7% in 1977. In manufacturing, a traditional union stronghold, union density fell from 35.5% in 1977 to 11.7% in 2006.