NICHOLAS HIRSHON | New York Daily News
May 29, 2011
Two unions are clashing over jobs at JFK Airport in what experts say is a classic example of workers groups turning against each other in a tough economy.
The rift stems from the opening of the new Qatar Airways gate in a terminal that had exclusively used the Transport Workers Union for ground operations.
Qatar opted against the TWU for ground work and instead contracted the firm Swissport International, whose workers are represented by another union.
That set up TWU protests that accused Qatar of “union busting,” even though the jobs were going to unionized labor.
Industry analysts said the charges demonstrate how unions, historically viewed as collegial, butt heads when jobs are scarce.
“Unions see it more now as a zero-sum game,” said Seth Kaplan, an editor at the Florida-based trade publication Airline Weekly. “The dynamic is somewhat different.”
After TWU was passed over by Qatar, members marched in April in front of the airline’s headquarters at Trump Tower in Manhattan, led by David Virella, president of TWU Local 501.
The rally smacked of an anti-union protest – replete with a giant inflatable rat – even though Qatar is employing workers from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, or RWDSU.
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