Unions strategize for surviving global airline alliances

The leaders of several airline industry unions will gather Wednesday in Washington to discuss how to preserve their member rights in the age of global air partnerships.

The meeting will be attended by the U.S.-based Transport Workers Union, the British Unite union and the Australian Service Union. The International Transport Workers Federation will also attend. 

“Employers in our industry have a global agenda,” James C. Little, the president of the U.S.-based Transport Workers Union (TWU), said in a statement announcing the meeting.

"It’s imperative that working people also think globally — and act globally. If we are going to protect our members and compensate for labor laws that end at national borders, unions must begin to act multilaterally,” Little said.

The unions are coming off a big fight over collective bargaining rights that erupted in the debate over an appropriations bill for the Federal Aviation Administration. House Republicans added a provision that rolled back a recent change to labor laws for airline and railroad employees that union leaders said made it easier to organize.

The provision was left in the FAA bill that ultimately passed the House, despite an eleventh-hour veto threat from President Obama.

The union leaders will hold a news conference Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington.