JetBlue Pilots Vote Down Union

(MoneyWatch)  When David Neeleman founded JetBlue, he said that if a workgroup voted a union in, he would have felt like he failed his employees. Yesterday, the pilots voted on a union contract and overwhelming turned it down. Even though Neeleman isn't at the airline anymore, I'm sure he's smiling.

Apparently, only about 33 percent of pilots voted for the union. A majority vote was needed for approval. There are certainly many differing opinions on when unions are appropriate and how effective they can be, but the JetBlue pilots have spoken fairly decisively here.

It's interesting to consider why this vote turned out the way it did. Is it a reflection of the inability of many airline unions to protect their wages this decade? Or is it simply a healthy, trusting relationship between the pilots and management at JetBlue that caused them to think they didn't need the union?

Even the organizers admitted it had nothing to do with the current situation with management, but it was preparation for any future changes. It appears that the pilots didn't feel like that sort of preparation was necessary right now. We'll see if that changes in the future.