Agents Ask Court to Bar Changes in Working Conditions

The Ad-Hoc Committee of Passenger Service Agents, representing agents at American Airlines, has asked a federal bankruptcy court to prohibit American's parent company, AMR Corporation, from making unilateral changes in wages, benefits and working conditions during the union election campaign, certification and contract bargaining process.

CWA helped airport, cargo, and reservations agents create the Ad Hoc Committee so they would have legal standing as the airline goes through bankruptcy reorganization. There is strong support among the 9,300 passenger service and reservations agents for CWA representation; CWA filed for a National Mediation Board election on Dec. 7, 2011.

AMR Corp. said it would make changes to compensation and other employment terms of non-management workers who do not have a union, and also presented specific proposals for changes it wanted in the collective bargaining agreements of the union groups and currently is bargaining with them. For non-represented workers, including the passenger service agents, AMR has said it wants to terminate their pension plan, eliminate their subsidy for retiree health care, dramatically increase active employees' health care costs, and cut jobs.

The agents' committee said such changes violate the Railway Labor Act, which requires that "laboratory conditions" be maintained for workers while the NMB is processing their election petition. The passenger service agents already have been hit with big wage and benefit cuts, beginning in 2003.

The workers' committee also told the court that AMR should be prohibited from making any unilateral changes during the period between CWA's certification as the agents' bargaining representative and the approval of an initial collective bargaining agreement.

"The company can't do whatever it wants to with the union groups," said Sacramento-based agent Bryan Wall. "It has to negotiate. With our upcoming union election, already in the works, I think the company should agree to wait to make changes until after our election."