[the picket line. They struck for their dignity…]

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the picket line. They struck for their dignity and the right to work at a union shop without fear of harassment. They pledged to stay out on strike one day Lorenzo sought to rebuild Eastern as a non-union low-cost carrier. He had done this at Continental in 1983 and had hoped to repeat it. Most of the creditors, except the unions, backed him in this effort for 14 months. They had been fully re-paid in 1983.

But reality has turned out quite differently today. Lorenzo has lost more than face, as the New York Times called it. He lost half of his airline empire. And the primary factor has more to do with the workings of capitalism than any other reason.

Lorenzo's main competitors, unlike in 1983, went for his throat. Airlines such as Delta and American strengthened their hubs in Eastern strongholds. The all-important business traveler jumped ship and went to these carriers as soon as Eastern went into a tailspin, which began even before Lorenzo bought Since the strike began, Eastern lost over $1.2 longer than Lorenzo.

Eastern in 1986.

The IAM strike made the profit problem leading Lorenzo to sell off asset after asset.

inths Name Address Baltimore P.O. Box 16005 Baltimore, MD 2121 Boston P.O. Box 1046 GMF Boston, MA 02205 (617) 497-0230 Chicago P.O. Box 578428 Chicago, IL 6065 (312) 327-5752 Cincinnati P.O. Box 27111 Cincinnati, OH 45227 (513) 272-2596 Cleveland P.O. Box 6151 Cleveland, OH 441 216) 429-2167 In depth Dear editor, As I again renew my subscription, I want to thank you for providing in depth analysis of the important events of our time. I find your weaving of history into the present and future as an integral component (rather than as a backdrop) very helpful in assessing trends and directions of change.

N.V., Baltimore, Md.

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