CWA Members at Piedmont Airlines Ratify New Union Contract Covering 7,500 Workers

Three years after negotiations with American Airlines subsidiary Piedmont Airlines began, union members achieve annual raises, expanded vacation, and overtime accrual through unwavering solidarity

NATIONWIDE – Piedmont Airlines passenger service and ramp workers, represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), have overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new union contract covering 7,500 workers across the country.

The five-year contract includes a signing bonus with yearly wage increases throughout the life of the contract, expanded vacation and overtime accrual, and more.

Negotiations for a new contract began in late 2023 and continued until negotiations deadlocked and a federal mediator from the National Mediation Board was assigned in early 2026 in response to the company’s failure to negotiate in good faith over wages. Under the Railway Labor Act, which governs labor contracts in the transportation industry, contracts do not expire but rather become “amendable,” and the process to strike is lengthy.

“Throughout this lengthy process, in the face of the company penny-pinching at the bargaining table, CWA members at Piedmont Airlines understood that solidarity is our strongest tool at the table,” said Sylvia J. Ramos, CWA Chief of Staff. “They remained united for a strong contract that delivers better wages and working conditions.”

“CWA members at Piedmont Airlines perform essential and often overlooked labor for one of the country’s most profitable airlines,” said Claude Cummings Jr., President of CWA. “This strong agreement is a reflection of our union’s commitment to fight for the indispensable workers that keep our nation’s flying public safe. I thank the members of our bargaining committee for their tremendous work and dedication on behalf of their fellow union members.”

CWA members at Piedmont Airlines—a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Airlines—support safe and efficient departures by assisting with pre-flight check-in, loading and unloading baggage, guiding planes on the tarmac, and ensuring aircraft are inspected before departure.

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About CWA: The Communications Workers of America represents working people in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, manufacturing, tech, and other fields, including more than 20,000 passenger service agents who work for American Airlines and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Envoy Air and Piedmont Airlines.

cwa-union.org @cwaunion