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American Airlines Campaign Takes Off; Progress in Contract Talks at US Airways
Passenger service professionals at US Airways are doing what it takes to win a first contract, with an active mobilization and communications campaign carrying the CWA message to the 10,000 agents. CWA negotiators are reporting substantial progress, and tentative agreement has been reached in several key areas.
Meanwhile, colleagues at American Airlines are stepping up their own campaign to win union representation and a seat at the bargaining table for some 15,000 gate, reservations, ticket and other employees, in an effort to gain fair wages, consistent work policies and a real voice in their workplace.
CWA has petitioned the National Mediation Board to hold a representation election among some 800 agents who serve the six major hubs of American Eagle Airlines, in the first leg of the representation drive at AA operations. Under the NMB process, a board representative will review the petition and set terms for the mail ballot election.
The Eagle agents, who work at airports in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York (JFK), Los Angeles and San Juan, Puerto Rico, have indicated strong support for CWA. "We want Eagle to sit down with us and bargain a contract that improves our working conditions and our working lives. That’s why Eagle agents overwhelmingly support CWA," said Clyde Seepersad, a Miami-based agent.
Big issues at American Eagle are wages, chronic understaffing that results in mandatory overtime and extreme work hours, and poor benefits. Wages are very low — most American Eagle agents are paid between $7 and $9 an hour — and workers have almost no opportunity to improve their salaries because the carrier provides no defined wage scale to advance salaries. Job turnover is very high.
At AA, passenger service professionals are working hard to build a union among their 15,000 colleagues at airports and five reservations centers. A CWA financial review of the company indicates that American is a highly successful operation, with operating profits last year of $1.4 billion, the second highest in the industry, just slightly behind Delta Airlines.
Much of this success can be credited to passenger service agents, who are key to bringing customers back, time and again, to the airline, the report found. Agents last year handled record-setting traffic and helped make AA number two in on-time arrivals. On the reservations side, the number of calls handled per full agents increased 3.8 percent while the corresponding cost dropped by 2.9 percent last year, and estimates for 1998 indicate that agents will handle even more calls.
Despite their critical role in AA’s financial success, passenger service professionals don’t receive a fair share of the reward, the report found. By contrast, the other employee groups — all represented by unions — are benefitting from guaranteed wage increases, stock option plans and other gains.
Passenger service professionals, however, are facing stagnating wages, inconsistent employee policies, outsourcing and other problems, but without representation, can’t bargain with management to address employees’ concerns.
In US Airways bargaining, the full 50-member bargaining council met in Washington in August to review progress and plan additional mobilization activities over the coming weeks. The fall mobilization got underway Sept. 14 with union members distributing and wearing a new CWA-US Airways pin.
Mobilization, education and other programs are continuing among CWA members at US Airways. Some 400 stewards are being trained to provide daily, on-the-job representation to members at the airports, reservations centers and city ticket offices. In monthly conference calls, stewards discuss recent grievances around the system and how these are handled, as well as exchange ideas to make representation even better. Stewards and stewards’ councils also are setting up monthly meetings with local management in an effort to resolve issues quickly.
CWA had been pressing for longer and more frequent bargaining sessions with US Airways, and management has agreed, with sessions now scheduled for twice a month. The CWA bargaining team includes core members Jeff Dewar, Charlotte; Josie Esposito, San Diego reservations; Chris Fox, Pittsburgh reservations, and Tim Yost, Pittsburgh, along with additional resource members representing small airports, reservations, part-time employees, club operations and other units.
Tentative agreement has been reached on a number of key issues, including establishment of a grievance procedure, bidding and discipline process, a safety committee and protections for workers in the event of reductions in force, voluntary furlough and job recall. Bargaining continues in several important areas, including seniority, wages and monitoring.
Separately, US Airways ramp workers, represented by the Machinists, overwhelmingly rejected a tentative agreement that would have allowed outsourcing of work at more than half of the stations and failed to address workers’ concerns about job and retirement security. The parties will continue to work with a mediator to reach an agreement.
Meanwhile, colleagues at American Airlines are stepping up their own campaign to win union representation and a seat at the bargaining table for some 15,000 gate, reservations, ticket and other employees, in an effort to gain fair wages, consistent work policies and a real voice in their workplace.
CWA has petitioned the National Mediation Board to hold a representation election among some 800 agents who serve the six major hubs of American Eagle Airlines, in the first leg of the representation drive at AA operations. Under the NMB process, a board representative will review the petition and set terms for the mail ballot election.
The Eagle agents, who work at airports in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York (JFK), Los Angeles and San Juan, Puerto Rico, have indicated strong support for CWA. "We want Eagle to sit down with us and bargain a contract that improves our working conditions and our working lives. That’s why Eagle agents overwhelmingly support CWA," said Clyde Seepersad, a Miami-based agent.
Big issues at American Eagle are wages, chronic understaffing that results in mandatory overtime and extreme work hours, and poor benefits. Wages are very low — most American Eagle agents are paid between $7 and $9 an hour — and workers have almost no opportunity to improve their salaries because the carrier provides no defined wage scale to advance salaries. Job turnover is very high.
At AA, passenger service professionals are working hard to build a union among their 15,000 colleagues at airports and five reservations centers. A CWA financial review of the company indicates that American is a highly successful operation, with operating profits last year of $1.4 billion, the second highest in the industry, just slightly behind Delta Airlines.
Much of this success can be credited to passenger service agents, who are key to bringing customers back, time and again, to the airline, the report found. Agents last year handled record-setting traffic and helped make AA number two in on-time arrivals. On the reservations side, the number of calls handled per full agents increased 3.8 percent while the corresponding cost dropped by 2.9 percent last year, and estimates for 1998 indicate that agents will handle even more calls.
Despite their critical role in AA’s financial success, passenger service professionals don’t receive a fair share of the reward, the report found. By contrast, the other employee groups — all represented by unions — are benefitting from guaranteed wage increases, stock option plans and other gains.
Passenger service professionals, however, are facing stagnating wages, inconsistent employee policies, outsourcing and other problems, but without representation, can’t bargain with management to address employees’ concerns.
In US Airways bargaining, the full 50-member bargaining council met in Washington in August to review progress and plan additional mobilization activities over the coming weeks. The fall mobilization got underway Sept. 14 with union members distributing and wearing a new CWA-US Airways pin.
Mobilization, education and other programs are continuing among CWA members at US Airways. Some 400 stewards are being trained to provide daily, on-the-job representation to members at the airports, reservations centers and city ticket offices. In monthly conference calls, stewards discuss recent grievances around the system and how these are handled, as well as exchange ideas to make representation even better. Stewards and stewards’ councils also are setting up monthly meetings with local management in an effort to resolve issues quickly.
CWA had been pressing for longer and more frequent bargaining sessions with US Airways, and management has agreed, with sessions now scheduled for twice a month. The CWA bargaining team includes core members Jeff Dewar, Charlotte; Josie Esposito, San Diego reservations; Chris Fox, Pittsburgh reservations, and Tim Yost, Pittsburgh, along with additional resource members representing small airports, reservations, part-time employees, club operations and other units.
Tentative agreement has been reached on a number of key issues, including establishment of a grievance procedure, bidding and discipline process, a safety committee and protections for workers in the event of reductions in force, voluntary furlough and job recall. Bargaining continues in several important areas, including seniority, wages and monitoring.
Separately, US Airways ramp workers, represented by the Machinists, overwhelmingly rejected a tentative agreement that would have allowed outsourcing of work at more than half of the stations and failed to address workers’ concerns about job and retirement security. The parties will continue to work with a mediator to reach an agreement.