Communications Workers of America activists and some American Airlines? workers today are handing out leaflets to passengers at 15 U.S. airports, including the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, to voice their growing concern about the carrier outsourcing work.
Leafleting was scheduled to start at 10 a.m. at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport?s Terminal D outside the American ticket counter.
An American spokesman did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
American?s?airport agents filed for a union representation election more than 10 months ago. CWA has sought to represent those roughly 10,000 American workers.
Two weeks ago, a federal appeals court ruled that a lower court should not have blocked a union election by American passenger service agents. The appeals court decision cleared the way for the board to proceed with an election of the nearly 10,000 airport and reservations agents, which are the largest group of employees at American not represented by a union.
The CWA charges American with replacing experienced employees with minimum-wage workers in bankruptcy. Fort Worth-based American and its parent AMR Corp. filed for bankruptcy reorganization in November.
?It?s become more and more apparent that the airline went into Chapter 11 [bankruptcy] to reduce employee salaries,? Chuck Porcari, a CWA spokesman in Washington, D.C., said today in a phone interview. ?He noted that AMR now has more cash than the $4 billion it had when it entered bankruptcy.
AMR had about $5.1 billion?in cash and short-term investments on hand as of Sept. 30, according to public documents filed this week.
?Replacing long-term loyal employees with high-turnover, minimum wage workers who get no benefits is unconscionable,? Porcari said. American has replaced some passenger service agents in Miami with minimum-wage workers, he said when asked for details.
In addition to the D/FW Airport, leafleting will take place today at airports in Boston, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles New York, among others.
Here?s the background on the CWA?s efforts at American:
Last December, the CWA filed a request with the?National Mediation Board to hold an election. At the time, the board required a ?showing of interest? from at least 35 percent of the eligible employees who wanted a union vote.
The board determined the union gathered sufficient signature cards from employees to call the election, and ordered American to submit a list of names and addresses of eligible employees.
American refused and filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth to block the election, citing legislation passed in February that required at least 50 percent of eligible voters to express interest for the board to call an election.
The appeals court declared that the board was correct to allow a union election based on the rule in place when the CWA requested an election (requiring interest from at least 35 percent of eligible employees).
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