American Eagle Agents Seek Union Representation

The Communications Workers of America has petitioned the National Mediation Board to hold a representation election among passenger service agents serving the six major hubs of American Eagle airline operations.

The American Eagle agents, who work at airports in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York, Los Angeles and San Juan, Puerto Rico, have indicated their strong support for CWA representation. The NMB will review the petition and set terms for a mail ballot election among more than 800 agents. American Eagle connects passengers between American Airlines hubs and smaller markets nationwide.

CWA also is working with passenger service professionals at American Airlines who want to form a union for some 15,000 employees at the carrier. The gate, ticket, reservations and other agents are the only employee group at the airline without union representation.

American Eagle agents cite their extremely low wages- most are paid between $7 and $9 an hour- as a key reason behind their support for CWA representation. Not only are wages low, but workers have almost no opportunity to improve their salaries because American Eagle provides no defined wage scale to advance earnings. Workers face excessive forced hours, as chronic understaffing and changes in flight schedules result in frequent and mandatory overtime hours, and job turnover is very high. Benefits are virtually non-existent.

Last year, some 10,000 passenger service professionals at US Airways voted for CWA representation. Negotiations for a first contract are underway.

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