Let’s face it, flying is a hassle. Security lines, confiscated tubes of toothpaste, blue glove gropings, delays, cancelations, missed connections, cramped seats…
…no wonder most Americans dread a trip to the local airport.
But now even your life may be in danger.
As I previously reported on Proud American Traveler, this has been “The Summer from Hell” for American Airlines customers.
Flying is already unpleasant enough under “normal” circumstances.
But this year, American travelers have had EVEN MORE reasons to choose the driver’s seat of their car over the middle seat of a 737.
Airline mechanics’ union bosses have targeted two of the nation’s largest airlines with so-called “work actions” designed specifically to cancel and delay flights. They are deliberately disrupting the lives of tens of thousands of passengers as a way to punish the airlines that employ these union militants.
Welcome to 2019, where flying went from a hassle to sheer misery.
Now Your Life May Be in Danger
The Big Labor dispute with American Airlines just got worse.
Maybe MUCH worse.
Those same union bosses ruining vacations and causing airline customers to miss weddings, funerals, or important business meetings now may be putting your life in danger.
Last week, an Iraqi-born union mechanic named Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, admitted to purposely sabotaging an American Airlines 737 packed with 150 passengers in Miami.
Just as shocking, Alani revealed in court that his motive was to further escalate his union’s months-long war against his employer, American Airlines.
And before you naively think that this is an isolated action from a lone misguided union fanatic, please carefully consider the words of Alani’s union boss, John Samuelsen, president of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU):
“If this erupts into the bloodiest, ugliest battle that the United States labor movement ever saw, that’s what’s going to happen. We are going to shut this place down.”
In May, Samuelsen confronted American Airlines executives face-to-face, threatening “absolutely vicious strike action” unless he gets what he wants.
The Union Wants Blood
Samuelsen sent a stern warning that the consequences could mean “bloodying American Airlines.”
By sabotaging a plane full of American Airlines customers, you can understand why Alani might think he was simply following orders.
To justify any union’s existence — and the millions of dollars it collects from members in forced union dues — union bosses like Samuelsen are always in a constant state of war against the company that employs its members.
This continual “hate-the-boss” mentality is already counterproductive enough when both sides have equal leverage.
But when the union bosses hold all the leverage, the consequences can be terrible for everyone involved — the company, the customers, and the workers themselves.
Rank-and-File Mechanics Have No Way Out
There are plenty of hardworking members of TWU who are horrified by the words of their boss John Samuelsen and the terrorist actions of Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani.
In fact it was fellow TWU members who turned Alani into the FBI.
Unfortunately, those workers who do happen to think it’s dumb and counterproductive to declare war on the folks who sign their paychecks simply have no other options.
It’s either pay your union dues…or you’re fired.
Too Much Power
Think about how powerful an airline’s mechanic union is. These are the guys who fix the planes and determine whether or not they are safe to fly.
If the union bosses’ demands aren’t being met by the airline, they can simply ground the planes until the airline meets their demands.
And what passenger wants to fly on a plane that mechanics deem unsafe to fly? After all, the mechanics would know, right?
Playing the “Safety” Card
Trust me, the union bosses exploit this leverage for all it’s worth. They are more than willing to play the “safety” trump card.
Earlier this year, American Airline’s rival, Southwest, faced the same type of so-called “work action” from its mechanics’ union.
The union’s national director, Bret Oestreich, told the media, “Southwest Airline’s scapegoating of its expert Aircraft Maintenance Technicians does not bode well for the airline’s safe operations.”
That sounds like good old-fashioned mafia extortion to me.
“Give us what we want…or 737s might start falling out of the sky.”
Taking Extortion to the Next Level
So it’s probably no surprise that a union terrorist like Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani would take it to the next level by deliberately putting a plane full of American Airlines customers at risk.
Airline unions have WAY too much power…
…the power to force workers to join, the power to ruin travel plans of paying customers, the power to disrupt the American economy.
Now they are using that power to put passengers’ lives in danger.
Congress needs to bring some accountability to Big Labor. Do Americans have to die before Congress will act?
