Airline merger could divide labor union ranks

The president of the AFL-CIO is worried that the merger of American Airlines and US Airways will trigger a costly fight between two unions over representation of airline ground workers.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka says that instead of fighting over workers who already belong to a union, the two unions should call a truce and share representation of the airline employees. That way, he says, they could focus on organizing workers who aren't union members.

The major U.S. airlines are heavily unionized. At many of the biggest carriers, unions represent pilots, flight attendants and ground workers such as mechanics and baggage handlers.

Ground workers at American are represented by the Transport Workers Union, while those at US Airways are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.  Read more here…