On the ground : labor struggle in the American airline industry / Liesl Miller Orenic.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Orenic, Liesl Miller, 1969-

Series:

Working class in American history

The working class in American history

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Airlines--Employees--Labor unions--United States--History--20th century.

Airlines.

Airlines--United States--History--20th century.

History.

Airlines--Employees--Labor unions.

United States.

Physical Description:

xiv, 281 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, [2009]

Summary:

On the Ground charts labor relations in the airline industry, unraveling the story of how baggage handlers-classified as unskilled workers-built tense but mutually useful alliances with their skilled coworkers such as aircraft mechanics and made tremendous gains in wages and working conditions, even in the era of supposedly "complacent" labor in the 1950s and 1960s. Examining company and union records as well as interviews with former baggage handlers, Liesl Miller Orenic explains how airline jobs on the ground were constructed, how workers chose among unions, and how federal labor policies as well as industry regulation both increased and hindered airline workers' bargaining power.

Contents:

1 The U.S. Airlines through the 1930s 7

2 Airline Work during World War II 49

3 Organizing the Airline Industry, 1945-49 71

4 Bargaining in Prosperity, 1949-59 132

5 On the Ramp in the 1950s and 1960s 155

6 Militance and the Mutual Aid Pact, 1960-70 191.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780252034336

0252034333

9780252076275

0252076273

OCLC:

246893184