Another 18 months and JetBlue is still union-free


It was just about 18 months ago that JetBlue pilots failed in their efforts to unionize. At the time the company released a statement that was reasonably polite and conciliatory.

We are very pleased that JetBlue’s Pilots have chosen to retain their direct relationship with the company. We will continue to work closely with our Pilots and all JetBlue crewmembers to ensure JetBlue’s competitive position remains strong and our culture remains unique in the industry. We truly believe culture, an environment of collaboration and the company’s agility are key competitive advantages for JetBlue.

Today the company released another statement. Once again the pilot unionization efforts failed. Interestingly enough, however, the commentary from the company is a bit more snarky (at least to me).

I would like to thank all JetBlue pilots for their thoughtful consideration of the issues in this campaign, and for electing to retain and expand their direct relationship with the company. Now that the election is concluded, I look forward to getting back to the business of truly reinventing the traditional airline management-labor relationship, as only JetBlue can.

I don’t really care all that much one way or another on the union issue. Personally I’ve got no beef to pick with either side. But the management position this time does seem a bit more aggressive and confrontational to me. I am not so sure that’s going to work out well in the long run. I suppose time will tell.

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Seth Miller

I'm Seth, also known as the Wandering Aramean. I was bit by the travel bug 30 years ago and there's no sign of a cure. I fly ~200,000 miles annually; these are my stories. You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

5 Comments

  1. I haven’t kept up on the issue, but the quote above doesn’t really appear hostile or aggressive, what am I missing?

    1. Then I guess it is just me.

      I guess I took it as suggesting that the whole idea of even considering unionization was a waste of time and now they would finally be able to get to work. But maybe I’m reading too much in to it.

  2. I suppose I can see where it’s not quite as conciliatory about the whole thing, though it doesn’t seem to me aggressive. Perhaps folks favoring unionization would disagree, and I suppose it’s their view that would matter.

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