March 4 Mismanagement Killing an Airline

On this day in labor history the year was 1989.

That was the day Machinists struck Eastern Airlines.

After bankrupting Continental Airlines to void union contracts there, the much-hated Frank Lorenzo hoped for a repeat at Eastern Airlines.

Lorenzo bought Eastern with junk bonds and then bled the airline’s profits dry to finance the debt of his holding company, Texas Air.

12,000 jobs were lost at Eastern in just two years under Lorenzo.

Machinists had every reason to believe wages would be cut in half in the next contract.

In the weeks building up to the strike, management made its union busting clear by firing dozens of shop stewards at airports across the country.

Machinists walked out at Miami airport a month earlier over forced overtime.

Nationwide, many complained they were forced to work anywhere between 24-36 hours straight.

Five days into the strike, Lorenzo filed for bankruptcy.

Picket lines were solid and the strike was popular.

Many trade unionists joined picket lines in support.

The strike against Eastern symbolized a fight to take back everything lost during the Reagan years.

The Air Line Pilot’s Association and Flight Attendants organized by TWU voted to walk out in solidarity.

They stayed out for more than eight months with striking machinists.

But when the pilots and flight attendants went back to work, it left machinists isolated.

Many argued that with contracts expiring at many airlines soon after the walkout, an industry wide strike could only bolster chances for machinists at Eastern to win.

But by early 1991, the strike had become a devastating loss.

Eastern ceased operations altogether in January and its assets were liquidated.