Why I Fight: Freddy Lopez

I was counting on retiring from American Airlines. Instead, I was forced into taking an early out because the company wanted to outsource our cargo to younger contractors. I’ve been applying for work in other areas but honestly, at 51, it is tough to find a company willing to invest in me.

I wrote a letter to CEO Tom Horton asking how he could do this to us, particularly after years of cargo operating profitably and receiving customer service awards. He never wrote back. I think they know the personal impact these cuts are having on people who have given their lives to the company, I just don’t think they care.

After all the surveys and meetings and promises that the restructuring process would be “fair and equitable,” this is what we get – a cold shoulder and a kick out the door.

I’ve come to terms with the reality that I don’t have a place at the new American Airlines, but I will never stop fighting for the rights of my coworkers and friends still there.

Management is scared. They are scared of our election, of our voice. Why else would they be spending millions of dollars on consultants and lawyers just to deny us our democratic right to vote?

Once we collectively recognize what this fight really is, a question of corporate greed vs. our careers and lives, I believe that despite all the obstacles and delays we can win. We need a contract. We need representation. We need CWA.