Fighting Over the Nuts and Bolts

From Forbes: In late March, a significant event occurred in the airline industry that went largely unnoticed by the public: United Airlines’ mechanics dumped their old union and chose the Teamsters as their collective bargaining representative in an effort to stop the outsourcing of aircraft maintenance jobs. The switch exemplifies an anti-outsourcing movement in the aviation repair industry that appears to be gaining steam. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., the presidential contender whose state is also home to United, backs the Teamsters in its opposition to airline maintenance outsourcing. Sens. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., recently proposed legislation to beef up the FAA’s oversight of foreign repair stations. “I think most Americans would be surprised to know to the extent that we have outsourced this function,” says McCaskill.
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