1985 Pan Am strike

The 1985 Pan Am strike was a labor strike involving several thousand workers, all members of the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), at Pan American World Airways. The strike began on February 28 and ended one month later on March 28. It involved roughly 19,000 workers.^[1]

During the 1980s, Pan Am was struggling financially, and in the early years of the decade, its five labor unions agreed to concessions in order to help the company remain financially stable. However, in December 1984, the labor contracts between Pan Am and the unions expired without replacements, with the unions requesting a lifting of the concessions that had included a pay freeze. TWU, which represented about 5,800 workers in various positions at the company, was especially vocal, and on February 28, after failing to come to an agreement with the company, they went on strike. Initially, the four other unions agreed to honor TWU's picket lines. However, after several days, citing concerns over the negative long-term impact a prolonged strike could have on the company, several unions (including those representing pilots and flight attendants) crossed the picket lines and returned to work. Following this, TWU and Pan Am agreed to meet for negotiations, which occurred throughout March and led to a tentative agreement being reached on March 23. In a narrow vote finalized on March 28, the union agreed to accept the contract (which contained similar provisions to the proposal Pan Am had made TWU before the strike) and ended the strike. While the contract included several concessions, the union also received annual pay increases of 5 percent for the duration of the contract.

The strike came during a difficult time in the relationship between organized labor and American airlines, with 14 strikes occurring at airlines between 1980 and 1986. Several of these strikes saw a high degree of interunion support. Historian David J. Walsh summarized the strike by saying that, while TWU won some gains alongside some concessions, the union's efforts were hurt by a breakdown in interunion support and genuine concerns from some unions over the negative effects of a long-term strike. Following the strike, Pan Am sold some of its assets in 1985 and in 1991, the company declared bankruptcy and ceased operations.