Under a new rule that could be announced as early as this week, the federal agency that referees labor-management relations for airlines would allow employees to organize if a majority votes in favor of unionization.

Today, the Senate turned to the Federal Aviation Administration authorization, H.R.1586. The last four-year authorization expired September 30, 2007. What caused this 2½ year delay? Congress couldn’t agree on how to apportion the excise and ticket taxes to pay for a desperately needed modernization of the air traffic control system.

Last year, the House of Representatives passed a bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration and devoting $70 billion to airport infrastructure through 2012. The bill also changed an inequity in labor law which has allowed FedEx to operate under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), while other shipping companies like UPS are governed by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

About 20 members of the Families of Continental Flight 3407 descended on the Capitol today, intent on pressuring a Tennessee senator to abandon his plans to stop a bill filled with aviation safety measures from coming up for a vote.

Irate families of victims of a plane crash last year near Buffalo, N.Y., are blaming Sen. Bob Corker's intervention on behalf of FedEx for a potential delay in passing higher safety standards in an FAA reauthorization bill.

A Tennessee senator is standing in the way of aviation safety legislation being pushed by the Families of Continental Flight 3407, likely delaying consideration of the measure until next week at the earliest.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Now that the merger between Delta and Northwest is complete, other airlines are under the spotlight for potential consolidation.

By an overwhelming margin, nearly 8,000 fleet service workers at Continental Airlines at airports across the country have voted to join the Teamsters, Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa announced Friday. See photos of CAL workers celebrating our victory.