Pressures Mount in America’s Airports

If you think traveling through airports

is tough, try working in one.

June 2017

ThisisourfifthissueoftheCWAAgentsConnectednewsletter.CWArepresentsmorethan20,000agentsatAmerican,Piedmont,andEnvoy.Inthisnewsletterwecoverstoriesofinteresttoagentsatallthreeairlines.Ifyou'dliketosuggestastoryorshareapictureofyouandyourcoworkerstakingactiontobuildourunion,emailusatinfo@cwaagents.org.

Agentsreportthatit’sneverbeenthisbad.SusanneSkowronski,anEnvoyagentatORDforthepastfiveyears,saysthatrecentlyunrulypassengersseemtohavemultiplied,andshefeelsmanagementisnotrespondingtoworkers’concerns.“Itjustdoesn’tseemlikethecompanybacksitsemployees,”saysSusanne.“Itwouldmakeadifferenceifmanagementweremorepresentinsteadofleavingagentsalonetodealwitheveryproblem.Theyjustsayweshoulddiffusethesituationusingourbestjudgment.Weneedhelp.”

TroyPickett,anEnvoyagentatORDforthepastsixyears,isaCWAStewardandActingLeadAgent.Troysaysthatit’simportanttotrackabusivepassengerbehavior.“Ifpeoplearethreateningusrepeatedly,wehavetoreviewtheirfilesandmakesurethatabusiveincidentsarerecordedsowecanknowwhentotakeaction.”Readmore:http://bit.ly/2tMDDlM

“Wewanttoelevatethecustomerexperienceasmuchasmanagementdoes,butwhattheairlinefailstorealizeisthatit’spassengerswhoareescalatingthesituations,andwedon’thaveenoughtoolsforhandlingthingsrightnow.”

—EnvoyAgentSusanneSkowronski,ORD

InApriltheviralvideoofDr.DavidDaobeingdraggedfromaUnitedAirlinesflightunleashedanewfirestormofpassengerfear,anger,andprovocationthatisnowtakingatollonairlineemployeesacrossthenation.Withthearrivalofthesummertravelseason,planesarenowmorecrowded,weatherismoreunpredictable,andpassengersaretakingouttheirfrustrationsonagents.

A Newsletter to Connect CWA Passenger Service Professionals

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WhenAmericanAirlinesworkersinPuertoRicorealizedthatanessentialaspectoftheircontractwasinjeopardyasaresultofoutdatedlaws,CWALocal3140joinedwithTransportationWorkersUnion(TWU)Local501tomakesurethelegislatureaddressedtheproblem.Local3140VicePresidentGeorginaFelixexplainsthattheLocalprotectedtheflexible“swap”systemthathelpssomanyworkersmaintainthebalancebetweendedicationtotheirjobsandfamilyresponsibilities.“Withouttheswapsystem,”saysGeorgina,“alotofworkersjustcouldnotkeeptheirjobs.”Throughoutmostofhercareer,GeorginaandotheragentsinPuertoRicoworkedforUSAirways,whichalwaysallowedshiftswaps.Thisvaluedpartofthecontractmeantthatifanagentwereneededathometocareforchildrenorsickorelderlyfamilymembers,heorshecouldworkfewerdaysforlongerhours.Unfortunately,whenUSAirwaysandAmericanmergedtobecomethenewAmericanAirlines,thecompanydeclareditcouldnothonorswapsbecausethenewcompanywasnotexempt(asUSAirwayshadbeen)froma1948overtimelaw.Georgina,Local3140PresidentEllisRyan,AreaRepresentativeHeydaDelgado,andtheotherofficersknewthatmanyoftheirmembersdependedontheswapsystem.Members

American Agents Win in Puerto Rico’s Legislature

“They shut one door, and we found another.”

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ofCWAandTWUinitiallybroughtacomplainttotheU.S.DepartmentofLabor,firstmeetingwithofficialsoutinthestreetbecauseanotherunionwasprotestingadifferentissue,andhadblockadedthebuilding.Astheyworkedtochangethelaw,Georginasaysthatsheandothersweretoldto“sitdownandbequiet,becausethingsarenotgoingtochange,andweshouldn’tgivepeoplefalsehope.”Buttheypersisted.“Theyshutonedoor,”saysGeorgina,“butwefoundanother.Itoldthemthatonedaythisfatlady’sgoingtosing‘hallelujah,’andthat’swhathappened.”Readmore:http://bit.ly/2s9O1qt

Taking Action for Agent Safety

Earlierthisyear,CWApassengerserviceagentsapplaudedthemoveoftheDepartmentofJusticeandDepartmentofTransportationconfirmingthattheAviationandTransportationSecurityActdid,infact,considerassaultsonagentstobefederalcrimes.Thelaw,49U.S.C.46503,setsfederalpenaltiesforinterferingwithairportandairlinepersonnelwhohavesecurityduties.

Thiswasanimportantstepinprotectingagentsonthejob,butwehavemoreworktodotoensurethatDOT,TSA,airlines,airports,andlawenforcementdotheirparttoenforcethelaw.

CWAisprovidingrecommendationsandguidancetoensurethateveryonewithastakeinprotectingagentshastheinformationandtoolsneededtodojustthat.Thisincludesprovidingcriticalinformationaboutwhattodoifassaulted.Youcandownloadawallet-sizecardhere:https://www.cwa-union.org/sites/default/files/cwa-passenger-service-assault-card.pdfThiscardcitestherelevantlawandthestepsanagentshouldtakewhenassaulted.Youcanalsofindinformationinadownloadableleafletdesignedtopostonunionbulletinboards.Downloadtheleaflethere:https://www.cwa-union.org/sites/default/files/cwa-passenger-service-assault-poster.pdf

Local3140LocalAreaRepHeydaDelgado,lawyerFranciscoVargas-López,andVPGeorginaFelixcelebrateteamwork.

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TheCWABargainingCommitteemetwiththeEnvoyBargainingCommitteeinMaytopresentacomprehensiveproposaltotheCompany.ThismeansthattheunionhasnowpresentedanentirepackagetotheCompany,andwewillnotbeabletoaddanynewitemstothepackage.ThemeetingbeganwithCWApresentingbothnewproposalsandaresponsetosomeoftheexistingproposals.ThecommitteegavethecompanyproposalsonGeneralArticles,ShiftDifferentials,PremiumPay,MealsandBreaks,LeavesofAbsence,Classifications,Definitions,Benefits,andWages.OurproposalcontainsawagescalebasedonseniorityandconsistentwithourinvolvementwiththeFightforFifteen.BargainingcontinuedinJune,withCWAandEnvoyreachingagreementonHoursofServiceandPreamble.AfullupdateforJuneisavailablehere:http://bit.ly/2sTBPHKandforMayhere:http://bit.ly/2sToYVR

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TheCWA-PiedmontBargainingTeammetwiththeairline’steaminMarch,April,andMaytocontinueworkingtowardafairandequitablecontract.Sofar,theteammembershavecometoagreementonArticle6,HoursofService;Article14,LeavesofAbsence;Article18,SafetyandHealth;Article19,GrievanceProcedure;Article20,SystemBoardofAdjustment;Article21,NoStrike,NoLockout;Article22,UnionRepresentation;Article23,UnionSecurity;Article25,PoliticalActionFund;Article26,Non-discrimination;andanewarticleonMedicalExaminations.

OnApril19,theCWAbargainingteamheldaTownHallCalltodiscussprogressmadeandtheimportanceofmobilization.Ifyoumissedthecallandwouldliketohearthequestionsandanswers,youcanfindtherecordinghere:http://bit.ly/2trKGTE

AnthonyBarden,PresidentofCWALocal3645inCharlotte,NorthCarolina,said,“Althoughwe’repleasedwiththeagreementstheTeamhasreachedsofar,westillhaveawaystogo.Somuchisatstakeandmemberengagementintheprocessiskey.OurbargainingteamwillhavemoreTownHallCallsandshareinformationwithmembersinavarietyofwaysaswecontinuetopushforrealimprovementsatthebargainingtable.”

AnthonyrecentlytooktheplaceofDoniellePropheteontheBargainingCommitteewhenDoniellesteppeddownforpersonalreasons.AnthonysaidthateveryoneatLocal3645appreciatesDonielle’stirelesseffortsonbehalfofhercoworkers,“Thefightwillcontinue,butwewillmissher!”

Formoredetailsoneachbargainingsession,takealookatthebargainingreportsonournewwebsite:

http://www.piedmontagent.org/piedmont-airlines/bargaining-updates

CWA’s Envoy Bargaining Team Reports Progress

YourBargainingTeam(LefttoRight):JamesMcKnight(MIA),DeAnnaDavis(BPT),JanetPadgett(LAX),ChrisHaight(TVC).

Piedmont Bargaining Springs Forward

Dates to Remember

Piedmont Bargaining: July 18-20

Envoy Bargaining: July 25-27

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InMay,fourCWAmembersfromAmericanAirlinesattendedatwo-daytrainingsessioninDallasforinternalorganizers.ThetrainingsessionincludedmorethanthreedozenunionmembersfromAmerican,AT&T,andothercompanies.TherepresentativesfromAmericanAirlinesincludedDeborahJohnson,DebbieAmaro,ChrisKress,andReneedelaGarza.

DeborahJohnson,a26-yearAmericanAirlinesveteranwhoisareservationsrepresentative,saysshewasinspiredandenergizedbytheexperience.“I’vebeeninterestedinorganizingaunionatAmericanfor20years,andnowamsoproudtosaythatI’maunionmember.Thetraininghelpedmethinkoutsidemylittleworldandtoseehowmanypeopleinthiscountryhavenopower.I’vegotagoodjobnow,withgoodpay,butIknowitcanbetakenawaysoquickly.Ifwedon’tgeteveryoneelseunionized,itwillenduphurtingus.”

Readmore:http://bit.ly/2s9vJpp

“Boot Camp” Training in Dallas Inspires

American Organizers

“If we don’t get everyone else unionized, it will end up hurting us.”

CWAAgents5013rdStreet,NWWashington,DC20001202-434-1100info@cwaagents.org

Forallthelatestnews,followandlikeusonFacebook:Facebook.com/AmericanAgentsConnectedFacebook.com/PiedmontAgentsConnectedFacebook.com/EnvoyAgents

Update: Call Center Legislation Gains

In April and May, the CWA-backed U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act saw positive momentum as a result of our collective efforts. In May, two more Senators—Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin of Illinois—signed on as co-sponsors of the bill. To date, we’ve collected more than 26,000 petition signatures in person and online. If you haven’t signed your name yet, you can still add it here: http://bit.ly/2sTC8lF

In April, CWA members in more than 60 locations across the country participated in actions to support the bipartisan legislation designed to keep good jobs in the United States in the airline, telecommunications, healthcare, and other sectors. We’re working hard to pass this legislation. Read more: http://bit.ly/2tNuMR0

Newly Minted Stewards at Envoy

CWA-EnvoyStewardtrainingswereheldonApril19andMay24,adding12morelocationstothelistofstationswithtrainedstewards.ParticipantscamefromlocationsrangingfromSanDiegotoBuffalo.Thestewardtrainingincludedinformationaboutnewlynegotiatedimprovementstothegrievanceprocedure,suchasa“justcause”requirementfordisciplineanda30-daymaximumtimelimitafteranincidentoccursforissuingdiscipline.

BackattheirLocals,severalofthenewstewardshavealreadybeguntheirwork,whichincludessigningupcoworkersasCWAmembersandexplainingexactlywhatitmeanstobeamember.Readmore:http://bit.ly/2tMSPzc

EnvoystewardspreparetofightforfairnessatMaytraining.

DiscussingstrategiesatDallastrainingfororganizers.