scenario 1

South Carolina is an employment-at-will state. Management of an aerospace manufacturing plant located there learns the identities of a half-dozen of the company's machinists who are surreptitiously circulating authorization cards among their co-workers in an effort to become represented by a union.

• Is the company running any legal risks if it fires those employees without stating a reason for their discharge?
• Explain.

scenario 2

You are a pilot for a U.S. airline whose pilots are not represented by a union or working under a collective bargaining agreement. As a cost-saving measure, airline management decides to drop the pilots' health insurance benefits.

• Can the company legally impose this change immediately and unilaterally, or is it required to first follow some specified procedure?
• Explain.