Airport strikes ruin business trips, vacations, weddings, celebrations, graduations, and the general right of Americans to pursue happiness.
Of course, for that very reason, strikes by airport service unions are both common and aggressive. The unions know that by threatening chaos against so many people, employers are likely to yield to their demands. It gives them an opportunity for blackmail.
And now, even though talks under way, unions representing baggage handlers, cleaners, drivers, and customer service agents are threatening another major airport walkout. It would affect New York’s big three (La Guardia Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport), as well as Philadelphia International Airport. The unions want increased wages, improved working contracts, and that favorite union boondoggle: seniority in scheduling arrangements. I say favorite, because seniority-scheduling speaks to the moral corruption at the heart of union politics: They ignore younger workers in order to feed older workers at the trough.
My contention on airport strikes isn’t necessarily about the merits of the strikers’ causes. Ultimately, my concern rests on the ability of a few hundred individuals to wreak havoc onto tens of thousands more.
Because that’s exactly what happens when strikes shut down airports: Everyone else gets screwed.
While unions undulate in their moral black hole, the rest of us are forced to lose hundreds or thousands of dollars. While we might get our tickets rescheduled at no extra charge, we cannot recoup the costs of not getting to our destinations on time. Maybe we have a connecting flight to get to a family wedding? Maybe we need to be somewhere to cut a deal that will save or grow a business? Maybe we have a short window for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation? The list goes on.
But the unions don’t care. They walk off with little notice for expressly that reason. Because they believe passengers will blame the airlines and their contractors first. And relying on biased media reporting and politicians in the pocket of big union fundraisers, the union gambit is rarely wrong.
Still, at individual and social levels, the consequences of airport strikes are invariably catastrophic. For that reason, I believe we should change the law. Strikes should be allowed, but airline service companies and representing unions should be forced to provide a basic level of service. And strikes must be announced with notice. If those who are required to provide basic services walk off the job, they should be fired.
To be sure, the Left will wail against such an “assault on workers.” But they do not have the facts on their side. In the end, economic justice and worker rights must be assessed in the context of all who are affected by a strike. And in the case of airports, those striking are committing a grievous assault on economic justice and their fellow Americans.
They deserve to be confronted.
