US Airways Agents Mobilize Ahead of Merger

Agents participated in a one-day training.

More than 50 US Airways airport and reservations agents gathered in Charlotte this week to build a mobilizing network for bargaining in preparation for the merger between US Airways and American Airlines.

Local leaders representing airport stations and reservations centers around the country heard first hand from American agents how much of their work has been outsourced to contractors – sometimes with the contractors outnumbering American agents at the ticket counters. And US Airways agents traded ideas on how best to structure themselves to reach all CWA members.

Many agents spoke of the advantages of belonging to CWA.

"I know for a fact we wouldn't have gotten snap backs if we didn't have a union," said Eula Smith, a station agent at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a US Airways hub.

Caridad Ruiz, another agent, noted that having a union "prohibits management from abusing authority."

The agents who took part in the one-day training will head back to their work places, start building a mobilization structure and train others in the skills they learned while in Charlotte.