Pilots for United Airlines and Continental broke off talks last week in the midst of negotiations that are an important step toward a full joint contract between the airlines. The question is whether this early breakdown in negotiations — before monetary issues ever even got on the table — will stall the two carriers' plans to finalize their merger by the end of this year and officially move Continental's headquarters to Chicago.

The Houston Business Journal reports that the pilots have accused the new melded management of being "inflexible." Chairman of the Continental pilots' unit of the Air Line Pilots Association International union, Capt. Jay Pierce, is quoted blasting Continental CEO Jeff Smisek's fondness of the word "synergy," and says the disagreement isn't about money.

I was against this merger from the beginning, and was personally hoping for a more dramatic story — pilot versus pilot. Each airline could separate into two opposing gangs a la West Side Story: the Jets and the Prop Engines. Sadly, it's not to be.

The whole "workers take on the man" narrative is tres tired, but if this conflict got Newsies-esque, I guess could dig it.

Watch an (only superficially) related, but awesome video below of Newsies gone GaGa: