Increasing number of labor disputes put union bargaining power front and center
Labor disputes, protests growing across US
United Airlines pilots have reached a tentative deal with the airline that will keep planes in the air and increase pay by as much as 40 percent. However, it's just one of many labor disputes raising workers' voices.
HOUSTON - United Airlines pilots have reached a tentative deal with the airline that will keep planes in the air, and increase pay by as much as 40%.
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It's just one of many labor disputes that are raising worker voices.
The last year has seen a lot of these face-offs: rail workers, west coast dockworkers, and now pilots.
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The labor victories are helping encourage others who are on the picket line. In Hollywood and New York, among other places, the entertainment industry is largely at a standstill as actors and writers walk a picket line, instead.
Actors, writers continue strike on Hollywood
The strike has put numerous productions and shows on hiatus, and there's no clear answer on when the strike could end.
They are demanding protections from artificial intelligence and changes to how they work and earn money in the era of streaming.
"It’s the AI, it’s the no money, it’s the no residual, it’s the disrespect," says actress Cassandra Palacio.
Meantime, Teamsters are counting down to the end of the month, when their contract with United Parcel Service expires.
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The union has authorized a strike amidst demands for better pay and working conditions. Already, there are fears a shutdown could be costly, and take a bite out of the national economy.
"If UPS chooses to strike themselves, because they're greedy and they're loyal to Wall Street and not Main Street, they will throw this country into a recession," argues Teamsters president Sean O'Brien at a recent rally.
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The Writers Strike has gone on for months now, and for the first time in six decades, actors have joined the picket line for the first joint strike in six decades. Backstage OL?s Dave Morales breaks it all down for us.
Labor experts say the showdowns are a natural product of the stress from high inflation and a hot labor market.
"That may encourage unions to renegotiate some of their salaries when they see the workers are losing their purchasing-power," says University of Houston economics professor German Cubas. "They want to recoup some of that."
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Cubas believes much of the power struggle will ease as the economy finds balance. However, he believes the continued march toward automation and modernization, much like the complaints about AI, will fuel a difficult transition that will leave workers and employers at odds.
"The tricky part, here [is that] all of this, in the long run, it's beneficial and our kids and grandkids are going to be able to adapt," he says. "But in the middle of that transition, there are some people who will become obsolete."
Don't expect those people who feel their jobs are threatened to go quietly. The worst-case scenarios for the Hollywood and UPS disputes project losses that could be valued at billions of dollars.