Inthepastfewyears,thousandsofcustomerservicejobsintheUnitedStateshavedisappeared.Butdemandisn’tshrinking,andprofitsaren’tdown.Companiesareshippinggoodjobsoverseastoboostprofits.Asaresult,workers,families,andcommunitiesgethurt.

CWAmembersareaskingCongresstopasssomecommonsenselegislationthat:

▪ RequiresthatU.S.callersbetoldthelocationofthecallcentertowhichtheyarespeaking.

▪ OfferscallerstheopportunitytobeconnectedtoaU.S.-basedcallcenter.

▪ MakesU.S.companieswhooffshoretheircallcenterjobsineligibleforcertainfederalgrantsandtaxpayer-fundedloans.

Ifyouwanttokeepcustomerservicejobshere,pleasetakeamomenttosigntheCWApetitionat:https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-congress-stop-call-center-offshoring

Tell Congress to Act Now: Keep Call Center Jobs in US

February/March 2017

In December, Executive Board members from INT and RDU came together at a Local 3640 meeting in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to share ideas and get to know each other's concerns. Most members at INT are Legacy US Airways passenger service agents, and members at RDU are Legacy American Airlines agents. Since the merger of American and US Airways, local officers have worked hard to make the transition as seamless as possible, but some obstacles remain. A key issue is the slow progress the company is making in combining Attendance Control Policy and Performance Metrics for LAA and LUS agents. In December, representatives from both groups shared strategies for handling grievances and ways of bringing their diverse members together. Using social media and the Local 3640 web site for communication was one of the ideas discussed. Everyone in attendance felt progress was solid, and members agreed to hold quarterly joint Executive Board meetings to keep up the momentum and communication. "It gave me great joy to see how well we worked together for the same purpose," said Vickey Hoots, President of Local 3640.

AA Reservations Agents Meet to Serve Members Better

A Newsletter to Connect CWA Agents

ThisisourfourthissueoftheCWAAgentsConnectednewsletter.CWArepresentsmorethan20,000agentsatAmerican,Piedmont,andEnvoy.Inthisnewsletterwecoverstoriesofinteresttoagentsatallthreeairlines.Ifyou'dliketosuggestastoryorshareapictureofyouandyourco-workerstakingactiontobuildourunion,emailusatinfo@cwaagents.org.

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Inourday-to-dayworklivessometimesweforgetthatwhetherwe’remainlineagentsorregionalagents,we’rereallyallonthesamesideasworkers.Americanagents,Envoyagents,andPiedmontagentsridethesameemployeebusestowork,wearthesameblueshirtsandtrousers,laughatthesameinsidejokes,andtalkinthesameshorthandairportlingo.Butoftenwedon’ttalktoeachotheranddon’tunderstandallthechallengeswehaveincommon.“Weworkforthesamecorporation,andwewearthesameuniform,solet'sstandupforeachother,”saysCarolynMarsalek,athirty-yearveteranofthebusyAmericanAirlinesORDstationandvicepresidentofCWALocal4201.It’sinourownbestinterestasmainlineworkerstosupportregionalagentsastheybargainforbetterpayandbenefits,Carolynexplains.“InChicago,forexample,halfourflightsarefeedinginfromEnvoyandweneedthoseagentstobethebesttheycanbe.Whentheyfeelvaluedanddoagoodjob,ourjobiseasier.”“Butit’salsoaboutourjobsecurity.Wewantregionalagentstohavestrongcontractsthatprovideincentivesforthecompanytokeepstationsupandrunningasprofessionallyaspossible,andnottrytooffloadthemtolowerquality,third-partyvendors.Ifthathappens,wealllose.”Thebottomlineisthataspassengerserviceemployees—whetherwe’remainlineorregional—weallknowtheday-to-daystrugglesofgettingthejobdone,meetingalltheexpectationsofmanagementandcustomers,andthengoinghomeandtryingtokeepourfamiliesandhomesrunningsmoothly.We'reinthistogether,andweneedtorememberthat.

“We Wear the Same Uniform. Let’s Stand Up for Each Other.”

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DeboraSutor,InternationalVicePresidentfortheAssociationofFlightAttendants-CWA,couldn'tagreemore."Managementwantsworkerstobedivided,andtofightamongourselvesbecausethat'showtheygainleverage.Butifwelinkarmsandsaythatwewillfightthesebigpayandbenefitsdiscrepancies,wecanprotectbothmainlineandregionalemployees,"saysDebora."WecallourprogramatAFA"BridgetheGap,"whichmeanswewanttoaddressthebiggapsinwages,workrules,andbenefits,becausedoingsowillhelpeveryoneandstoptheracetothebottomweseeinsomanyairlines."KevinCreighan,AFA-CWAInternationalSecretary-Treasurer,notesthat,"Intermsofmainlineandregionalcarriers,managementwantsustoseeourselvesincompetition,butwearen't.Wedothesamejob.We'reinthesamefamily.It'sstillaworkinprogress,butwe'remakingalotofpositivegainsincomingtogether."Carolynadds,“Whenitsuitsthecompany,theytreatusallthesame,butwhenit’stotheiradvantagetoseparateusinordertoweakenourbargainingposition,thecompanyputsupwallsbetweenusandtreatsregionalagentslikesecond-classcitizens.It’saslipperyslope,isn’tit?Ifweletonegroupofagentsbetreatedaslessthan—isn’titjustamatteroftimebeforethathappenstoustoo?”“Wedon’tneedanymorewallsbetweenus,”saysCarolyn.“WeneedbridgesconnectingallAmericanemployees—andevenconnectingmanagementandworkers.Ihavesomehopethatthat’swherewe’regoing.Ihopemainlineagentswillreachouttoregionalagentsattrainings,onthebusorsubway,andeveninlineatthecoffeekiosk,andsharesomewordsofsupport.Itmaybeacliché,butit’strue:Weareallstrongertogether.”

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DelvorieMeighansharesastoryaboutasuccessfulgrievanceprocedureforamemberatO’Harewhowasdisciplinedforfailinganaircraftsearch.Herstoryisanexampleofhowvaluabletheon-the-groundworkofeachCWAstewardisinmeetingtheneedsofmembers.Fromthemomentaproblemarises,througheachstageofthegrievanceprocedure,stewardsandotherunionrepresentativesaretheretoprovideexpertiseandsupportwhenagentsarefeelingthemostvulnerable.Delvorieexplainshowshepursuedandwonatypicalcase:Duringatwo-personsearchofanaircraft,oneoftheagentstookthefrontwhiletheotheragentstartedfromtheback,andtheymetatthedesignatedexitrow.Duringtheboardingprocessapassengerseatedinthefronthalfoftheaircraftfoundaforbiddenitemattachedtotheseatbelt.Themanagerondutythatdayissuedbothagentsafirst-stepadvisory,eventhoughtheagentswrotestatementssayingexactlywhichareaoftheaircrafteachwasresponsiblefor.Thememberfeltthiswasunfairtoheranddiscouragedteamwork,soshedecidedtogrievetheadvisory.WhenIwasfirstaskedtobeastewardforthiscase,Ithoughtitwouldbeeasybecauseourmemberfollowedprocedures,andthiswasthewayagentshaveconductedsearchesforatleastthepast18years.Duringourinitialmeetingforthefirst-stepgrievance,itseemedasthoughmanagementhad

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creatednewlocalpracticestojustifydiscipliningbothagents.Theargumentwasthateachemployeeontheaircraftshouldgoovertheother'ssearchedareastoensuretheyweresecure.Wethoughtthisdefeatedthepurposeofhavingtwoagentssearchanaircraft,especiallyduringaquickturn.Iwasn’tsureifthisincidenthadhappenedbefore,howmanagementhadhandledit,oreveniftherewasanofficialpolicyandprocedureforconductingtwo-personaircraftsearches.Idecidedtostartmyinformationgatheringwiththestationtrainer.WithinanhourIreceivedareplythattherewasnosuchthingasatwo-personaircraftsearchpolicy.IthencalledAmericanAirlinesmainline,becauseEnvoymirrorsjustabouteverythingAAdoes,andIlearnedthatProspectconductstheaircraftsearchesforAmerican.TheProspecttrainerexplainedthattheyassignsectionsoftheaircrafttoanindividualandattheendofthedayifsomethingweretohappen,onlythatpersonwouldbeheldresponsible.Ipreparedandsubmittedmywrittenappealforoursecond-levelgrievancetothehubEIC.Ibriefedanotherstewardwhotookoverthesecondstep.Intheend,afterreviewingallofthedetails—includingthefactthatthereisnopropertrainingmanualinplacefortheagentstofollow—thehubEICagreedthedisciplinewasunjustandremovedtheadvisoryfromthemember'sfile.CongratulationstoDelvorieforasuccessfuloutcomeinChicago!

AnEnvoySteward’sStory:SupportingMembersatORD

DelvorieMeighanhasbeenapassengerserviceagentforEnvoyAirlinesatORDforfiveyearsandisnowasteward.

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TheExecutiveBoardofLocal3645isdeterminedtoconnectwithnewshopstewardsandmembersatasmanyPiedmontstationsaspossible.Theirgoalistoinstillconfidenceandlendahelpinghandthroughthesesitevisits.TheLocal3645teamrecentlyvisitedLouisville(SDF),Greenville-Spartanburg(GSP),andWilmington(ILM).AtSDFtheywereabletohelpnegotiatethereturnofaterminatedagent.AndatGSPtheExecutiveBoardencouragednewshopstewardsGayleFespermanandCherrieSimstoopenadialoguewiththeirstationmanager.NewmonthlymeetingsatGSParenowintheworks.TheILMvisitwasafollow-upwithstewardDylanMcPhee,whohasbeensuccessfulinsolvingproblemsandimprovingthecultureatthestationthroughweeklymeetingswithmanagement."We'revisitingourstationsregularlyandwillkeepitupuntilwegetenougharearepresentativesinplace,"saysLocal3645VicePresidentDonielleProphete."Wewanttomakesureourmembersknowtheyhaveoursupport.ThevisitsdefinitelyhelpunifyPiedmontpassengerserviceagentsasateam."

Site Visits Unify Local 3645 Members

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

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

ThenextPiedmontBargainingMeetingis

MARCH7TH-9th!

Ifyouhaven’tcompletedaPiedmontMobilizationCard,

doitnowonline!

http://sgiz.mobi/s3/Piedmont-Mobilization-Card

OurVoiceWasHeardinDC:VictoryontheAirRageIssue

InJanuarywelearnedthatmobilizationforanimportantcausereallyworks.Adecade-long,nationwideeffortbypassengerserviceagentsrepresentedbyCWAtoprotectallairlineemployeesfromphysicalandverbalabusebypassengerssucceededonWednesday,January11.TheU.S.DepartmentofJusticeconfirmedthata2002statute(49U.S.C.§46503)thatsetcriminalpenaltiesandjailtimeforpeoplewhocommitassaultsagainstairportoraircarrieremployeeswithsecuritydutiesinfactdoesapplytopassengerserviceagents,aswellastoTSAandlawenforcementofficers.

“Mostofthepeoplewespoketoaboutthisissuedidn’tevenknowitwasthatabigofaproblemformeandmycoworkers.Itwasjustamatterofknockingonsomedoors,makingsomemeetings,andbeingloudandproudaboutmyproblems.Beingontheothersideofitfeelsamazing.I’mreallygratefultohaveamoresafeworkenvironment,”saysAmandaMitchell(Envoy-DFW)

Readmoreat:http://www.cwaagents.org/news/huge-victory-all-airline-employees

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