The four commonly used integration methods in airline mergers are date of hire, rank ratio, relative seniority, and career expectation. The methods have therefore been used in the cases “Addington vs the U.S.,” “Nicolau reward,” and “Allegheny Mohawk Merger Case” to show the conditions for getting into a merger and the consequences of not operating within the principles of the union. The three arise either explicitly or implicitly, focusing on the various pathways through which integration occurs. Similarly, these methods are closely linked to comprehending the Congress problem addressed in the McCaskill-Bond Amendment.
Cases and List Integration Methods
The first method of a list of integration in an airline merger is career expectation. The method has been used in the “The Allegheny- Mohawk” merger case to address injustices related to labor treatment in the union (Crooker, 1973). The career expectation, in this case, attempts to address the pre-merger agreement, which gives the air carriers such as collective bargaining, the minimal annual rate of compensation, and compliance with title II of the labor Act.
Relative seniority is the second method used in list integration in an airline merger. The technique has been used implicitly in the “Addington vs U.S.” airline case to award the East pilots seniority over the West pilots (Pathroff, 2011). The list used was based on the “Nicolau Reward,” and U.S. Airways was insolvent and operating in bankruptcy at the time of the merger (Baker, 2020). On the other hand, the American West was in a stronger financial position and deserved relative superiority over the American East, creating a conflict of interest while forming the merger.
A date-for-hire method has also been explicitly used in the Nicolau Award to determine the case between America West and East Airlines. Due to its involvement in previous mergers, U.S. Airways, older than the West Airline, knew the dates of hire list, subjecting American West to conditions and restrictions for seven years. The move, in this case, put most of its senior pilots down the seniority list.
Lastly, the rank ratio is used in aviation mergers as a list integration method. The method has been explicitly applied in the Nicolau Reward to allocate aircraft operations based on the total number of pilots rather than active ones. The move places the U.S. airline in a better position to access all A330, B767, and B757 international and first captain positions while allocating flights.
Congress on McCaskill-Bond Amendment
The MacCaskill Bond Amendment regarding crafting the class integration between two airlines. The Act addressed the requirement for air carriers and the labor integration process. According to the Act, the requirements for an air carrier entail a carrier is entitled to collective bargaining, minimal annual compensation rate, maintaining compensation rates, and working conditions of copilots and pilots. The Amendment Act also addresses issues concerned with labor integration and aims at the due process that should be followed in integrating the seniority list. From the Act, congress was trying to address the interests of unionized and nonunionized employees at union and committee levels.
The statute of labor integration imposed by the board concerning the Allegheny- Mohawk merger covers the employees of carriers in the integrations with a few exceptions. The first exception is that lists the lists to be used in the integration of a merger should be handled by the carrier. The carrier can obtain a negotiated list from the group parties or engage in arbitration if any parties are unaffected. In the case of employee groups, internal merger policies can be used without a carrier, implying that air carriers are not affected by the requirements since they are covered by sections 3 and 13 of the Allegheny- Mohawk provisions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the four list integration methods of date of hire, rank ratio, relative seniority, and career expectation are apparent in the three discussed implicitly or explicitly. Similarly, in the MacCaskill Bond Amendment, congress was trying to solve labor integration issues which are still directly linked to the four integration techniques. These underpin the essence of integration in the labor market.
References
Baker, D. (2020). The Not so friendly skies: Pilots’ attempt to claim employer collusion with rival pilots union during collective bargaining fails in Beckington. J. Air L. & Com., 85, 167.
Crooker, J. H. (1973). Airline mergers in the 1970s. J. Air L. & Com., 39, 143.
Pathroff, R. J. (2011). Ripe, riper, ripest-The ninth circuit’s decision in Addington v. U.S. Airline Pilots Association sets a misguided ripeness standard for duty of fair representation claims. J. Air L. & Com., 76, 127.