Unite Union Attempts to Take British Airways Dispute International

The Unite union, which is the union that will be taking industrial action against British Airways this weekend, is now expected to meet with representatives from its American counterpart Teamsters. This news comes as the union attempts to take this dispute with British Airways to an international level.

The first planned strike by British Airways cabin crew will be taking place this coming Saturday. The staff is expected to hold the strike for three days. A second strike has already been confirmed for March 27^th; however, this one will last for four days.

Teamsters, which is the largest transport union in the United States, has acknowledged the meeting was due to take place, it still remains very unclear what role the company will play in the industrial action. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents 1.4 million workers in the United States and Canada, said it would stand in solidarity with Unite.

The Teamsters group is an active member of the International Transport Workers Federation. Teamsters went on to say that the International Transport Workers affiliates around the world are mobilizing to support British Airways workers in their fight for passenger safety and worker respect.

The International Transport Workers Federation is a global union federation of transport worker’ trade unions. Just last year the International Transport Workers Federation had 654 member organization on its side in 148 countries. These groups represent about 4.5 million workers.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has already said that he supports transport secretary Lord Adonis and his view that the strike action is totally unjustified. British Airways did confirm that it would operate up to 60 percent of its planned departures during the strike. This does include all of the flights from London City Airport.