Passenger Service Agents to Suffer Irreparable Harm in Decision That Delays American Airlines Vote

Following is a statement by the Communications Workers of America on the district court judge’s decision granting a temporary restraining order sought by American Airlines:

Washington – The decision by a U.S. District Court Judge granting a temporary restraining order to block the vote by nearly 10,000 passenger service agents means workers, not American Airlines, will suffer irreparable harm – the standard for such an order.

Clearly the airline is afraid of workers having their democratic vote and has been fighting hard to stop it.

Agents who are being forced to make life-changing decisions right now about their jobs will be harmed by this vote not going forward, not American Airlines that filed for bankruptcy with $4 billion in the bank, in large part to throw out its collective bargaining agreements with union workers and gut the jobs, benefits and working conditions for the passenger service group.

Agents who want a union have been battling a vicious attack campaign for 15 years at American Airlines. This election, after repeated delays by American Airlines, finally was set by the National Mediation Board. But American Airlines doesn’t want to follow the law, it’s trying to rewrite the law.

There is no retroactivity for legislation, and clearly none for the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization. That’s been made clear to the airline by Senate leaders, who wrote to CEO Thomas Horton on May 15. “Beyond the clearly established precedent that limits the retroactivity of changes in the law, in this case, Congress included specific language in the amendments addressing this issue,” they said.

The Senate went even further, they wrote, with floor discussion by the two leading chairmen, Senators Rockefeller and Harkin, confirming that “the showing of interest requirement set forth in this legislation should only apply prospectively.”

The Communications Workers of America will continue to stand with the thousands of agents at American Airlines who want their union voice. We will continue to spotlight how this airline is ignoring Congress and trying to impose its own interpretation of congressional intent. We will make every legal challenge and argument necessary to make sure that agents get their right to vote.

The facts are on our side. American Airlines picked the wrong fight.

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Contact: Candice Johnson or Chuck Porcari, CWA Communications, 202-434-1168, cjohnson@cwa-union.org and cporcari@cwa-union.org