Union Flight Attendants, Agents Play Key Role in Piedmont Election

CWA and AFA-CWA-represented workers at Piedmont, US Airways and other airlines are playing an important role in Piedmont agents' campaign to get a union.

Their union election begins next week when the agents start receiving balloting information from the National Mediation Board, and voting runs until Feb. 19, when the ballots are counted. "At this stage in the campaign it means a lot for agents to hear from their union co-workers because management's anti-union campaign of supervisor one-on-ones and mandatory meetings is in full gear," said CWA Local 13000 organizer Harry Arnold. "Given the problems we have with access to the workers, support from union agents and flight attendants is critical," he noted.

With the heightened security measures put into place since the events of 9/11, only ticketed passengers and other airline employees can get access to parts of the airport where the Piedmont agents work.

The union message is personally being carried to Piedmont agents by CWA-represented mainline (US Airways) agents who are talking with the workers every chance they get. "Hearing from a union agent goes a long way to debunking the anti-union message that the agents are getting from Piedmont," said CWA Local 13301 Secretary Deborah Robinson.

"We were glad to help," said Betsy Tettelbach, a flight attendant who heads the union's master executive council at Piedmont Airlines. "It's important that union airline workers -- flight attendants, pilots, or agents – are always willing to support our co-workers, whether they are trying to organize or need bargaining support. Solidarity really matters in our industry," she said.

Union agents and flight attendants will be wearing "We Support Piedmont Agents" bag tags and lapel stickers, and flight attendants have enlisted the support of pilots who have also agreed to wear pro-union stickers.