Collective Bargaining at Magic Carpet Airlines: A Union Perspective

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AT MAGIC CARPET AIRLINES: A UNION PERSPECTIVE

Objectives

1. To describe the collective bargaining process;

2. To portray preparation for bargaining from the union negotiators' perspective (the case outlines the union's preparation for bargaining, telling how the union identified its goals and what its strategies were for achieving these goals);

3. To help the student determine the strategies that MCA managers used (the tactics are shown, but not told, to the reader);

4. To help students learn about ethical issues in negotiation; and

5. To help students become more sensitive to gender concerns in the workplace by noting the way that managers treated the female flight attendant negotiators.

Case Overview

This case describes the bargaining process from the perspective of the League of Flight Attendants (LFA) union negotiators, as they sought their second contract against Magic Carpet Airlines (MCA). It describes the steps the negotiating team members followed as they identified their bargaining objectives and pursued them through collective bargaining. Because of the confidential nature of the bargaining process, all names, dates, conversations, financial data, and figures used in this case are disguised. However, the survey data are real.

Instructions

You will be assigned to a team for this case. Use the discussion forum designated for your team to communicate. You will submit one team written analysis. As you read the case, think about the following questions and incorporate your answers in your written analysis.

1. What did the union do to prepare for negotiations? What additional sources of information might it have used?

2. What were the union's primary objectives?

3. What were the union's strategies? Were they reasonable?

4. What were the company's goals?

5. What were the company's strategies?

6. How did the deregulation of the airline industry in the late 1970s influence labor relations at Magic Carpet Air?