One of the hallmarks of Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has been relative labor peace.
However, recently we have seen a plethora of strikes which have repeatedly grounded German air travel.
Strikes can be called by labor, either ground personnel or flight attendants, to put pressure on their employers, either government, private companies, or airlines, before or during labor negotiations.
Some strikes could last a few hours, some several days.
For example, an 18-hour warning strike by passenger and luggage security personnel at airports in Frankfurt, Munich, and 8 other airports by the members of the United Services Trade Union, better known as Ver.di, forced Frankfurt airport alone to cancel half its 1200 daily flights.
The employees were demanding 20 Euros/hour pay and a unified nationwide pay scale.
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Another day-long Ver.di strike forced the cancellation of more than 2000 flights.
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A one-day strike was also called in Cologne/Bonn, Duesseldorf, and Stuttgart airports.
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Strikes  affected not only German domestic flights but also ones to and from foreign locations, such as Kiev, which lost its service to Duesseldorf, Munich, and Frankfurt.
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Strikes could be called for individual airports, as happened at the Duesseldorf airport, where again security personnel went on strike forcing the cancellation of 160 flights, one third of the airport’s take-offs and departures.
The 34,000 union employees were demanding a 30% raise, while the employers were only offering 9%.
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Security personnel carried out a warning strike at the Berlin airports of Tegel and Schoenefeld, where flights by Lufthansa, Aeroflot, Ryan Air, and Easyjet were affected.
The employees were asking for a raise from 17 Euros/hour to 20, while the employers were ready to agree to a 2% raise and a two-year contract.
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The company sued to prevent the strike but its suit was denied.
However, in at least one case, Lufthansa management was ready to negotiate with its unions following a two-day strike that caused the cancellation of 1300 flights.
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Strikes have also been called by German airline flight attendants.
In one, Lufthansa was forced to cancel 1300 flights affecting 200,000 passengers due to a refusal to work by flight attendants who demanded a raise in pay and better working conditions.
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Flight attendants for Lufthansa subsidiaries Eurowings, Germanwings, Sunexpress and CityLine also struck in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Duesseldorf, and Cologne.
Which led to the cancellation of at least 100 flights.
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German Wings flight attendants also struck on another occasion, demanding higher pay.
Their strike led to the cancellation of almost 200 flights.
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Although their strike was scheduled to last three days, but the strikers reserved the right to continue it if management did not show signs of making concessions.
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Warning: these questons and answers are not all representative of the way questions will be asked and answered in the pilot, because some questions are compound and some answers do not include citations.

Q: Which seem to be the two main groups striking German airports and airlines?
A: security personnel and flight attendants.

Q: What was a major demand of the security personnel?
A: a raise to 20 Euros/hour.

Q: Was management making any counteroffers?
A: A 2% and a two-year contract in one case, 9% in another.

Q: Were strikes called only in the course of negotiations?
A: No, they could be waning strikes before the start of negotiations.

Q: At this time, what were the two airports serving Berlin?
A: Tegel and Schoenefeld.

Q: What were other demands brought forth by the employees?
A: a unified pay scale and better working conditions.

Q: Did Lufthansa management have the support of the courts in its attempt to prevent strikes?
A: in the case mentioned, the court denied Lufthansa’s request for an injunction against the s=flight attendants’ strike.

Q: In Germany a major employees union is better known as what
A: Ver.di, the United Services Trade Union.

Q: What do Germanwings, Eurowings, SunExpress, and CityLine airlines all have in common?
A: They are all either partially or wholly owned by Lufthansa.

Q: What were the effects of strikes on foreign travel for Germans?
A: flights outside of Germany were also affected, for example, between Kiev and Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, and Munich.

Q: Was Lufthansa management ever ready to negotiate with its unions?
A: Yes, in at least one case, but only after a two-day strike that led to the airline canceling 1300 flights.