Pilots at major U.S. air carriers are seething over pay increases and bonuses recently awarded to executives, a sign the U.S. airline industry may be headed again for labor turbulence after years of relative peace. As U.S. carriers eke out their first profits in years, they're rewarding executives with stock, bonuses and raises. While such measures don't seem outlandish to investors on Wall Street, they're raising the ire of workers in the airlines' hangars and cockpits and providing a rallying cry to unions at US Airways, United and American Airlines.
See "Bigger paydays for airline execs leave pilots demanding a share", Julie Johnsson, Chicago Tribune, October 29, 2006