Why you don’t have to worry about a US airline strike disrupting your summer travel plans

American Airlines pilots voted to go on strike Monday. Southwest pilots are holding a strike vote as well. But none of those union members will be allowed to go on strike anytime soon — if at all — under the labor law that applies to airline workers. That law is the Railway Labor Act, which, despite he name, covers both rail workers and airline employees. Those are two of the most heavily unionized US industries, and the law places considerable hurdles in the way of any union that wants to strike. The pilots have cleared exactly zero of those hurdles so far. If federally mediated union negotiations reach an impasse, a union can be given permission to strike. But the law allows the president to step in at the last moment and order workers to stay on the job for a months-long “cooling off periods” while a presidential panel comes up with recommendations as to how to settle the deadlock. If the two sides can’t reach a deal during that cooling off period, the union could then go on strike — but only if Congress stays on the sideline and allows the strike to take place. But it’s possible that Congress would act to block a strike. That’s what happened with the freight railroads last December when Congress imposed a contract on the angry rail unions to keep the railroads operating. This doesn’t mean that the airline unions and their members aren’t serious about going on strike if given the chance. Most airline employees have gone years without pay raises, and they have endured extremely difficult working conditions during the pandemic. Many unions have had members participate in informational pickets at major airports, at American pilots did Monday. Story has more.<br/>