The airline industry has had a tough time in recent years, and right now things are getting even tougher. Fuel prices are going up, and many airlines are at capacity. They need to buy new airplanes which are more fuel-efficient but they are worried that fuel prices go up even further thus, it will not matter, because as they raise the price airline travelers will curtail their robust demand for flights – a definite catch-22.Indeed, as we’ve seen there is a big showdown brewing in the aviation sector when it comes to unions and industry. Not only are there storm clouds ahead for the airlines, but there is also turbulence for airline manufacturers in the courts, and the courts will be hearing more than their fair share of cases with regards to labor and employment disputes in 2011 and 2012.There was an interesting article which highlighted some of the issues going on with one airline manufacturer over a manufacturing facility being moved after labor talks broke down. The piece appeared in the New York Times on April 22, 2011 written by Steven Greenhouse and titled; “Labor Board Case Against Boeing Points to Fights to Come” – and so the battle between employees, labor unions, and big business go on.Many industry executives blame the Obama Administration and the Democrats as the historically they have been big supporters of big labor. Whereas, this is true and it gives the labor unions a big boost in the courtroom and with the regulators, the labor unions also have to be careful that they don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Labor and industry must work together to produce the quality goods that are sold around the world.If our largest airliner manufacturer in the United States slows down its production, there are other companies all over the world willing to take its place, and deliver those orders to the airlines. In fact, China would like to take a chunk of the airliner manufacturing industry, and don’t forget Airbus in the EU as well. One question I would like to ask is that if an airliner manufacturer is providing jobs to Americans, what difference does it make if those jobs are union or not.Either way those jobs are paying a higher per hour rates or salaries than other manufacturing jobs in the US, and we all know that people need jobs whether they work union or not because everyone has a family to feed. If we allow our court system and our federal regulators to take down our industrial base, we won’t have one. The airline industry doesn’t need any more bird strikes in 2011. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.