{"id":4512,"date":"2020-03-05T20:25:22","date_gmt":"2020-03-06T04:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cwa9003.org\/?p=4512"},"modified":"2020-06-28T18:32:13","modified_gmt":"2020-06-29T01:32:13","slug":"cwa-agents-connected-newsletter-winter-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.cwa9003.org\/?p=4512","title":{"rendered":"CWA Agents Connected Newsletter, Winter 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"CWA<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A Newsletter to Connect CWA Passenger Service Professionals<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Winter 2020<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is the CWA Agents Connected newsletter. CWA represents over 20,000 passenger service and fleet service employees at American Airlines, including mainline American Airlines and regional carriers Piedmont and Envoy. In this newsletter we cover stories of interest to agents at all three airlines. If you’d like to suggest a story or share a picture of you and your co-workers taking action to build our union, email us at info@cwaagents.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fighting for a Safe Workplace at CLT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Donielle Prophete, Vice President, CWA Local 3645<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last August our CWA family lost a valued member in a workplace tragedy. Kendrick Hudson, a 24-year-old passenger service agent and member of CWA Local 3645, was killed when the vehicle he was driving at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport flipped over after hitting a piece of fallen baggage. Kendrick\u2019s family is now suing American Airlines as well as the city of Charlotte and asking that poor lighting and other dangerous conditions be addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Donielle<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After completing a study that showed illumination on Concourses B, D, and E was below recommended levels, airport officials say they plan to upgrade lighting on the tarmac. In addition, the North Carolina Department of Labor has cited Piedmont Airlines with a $19,600 penalty for multiple safety violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders of our union had been begging Piedmont to fix safety hazards at CLT, especially insufficient lighting and lack of roadway lines, for months before Kendrick\u2019s death. According to a survey of Piedmont agents conducted by CWA last December, two-thirds of my coworkers in Charlotte reported raising safety concerns to management in the past six months (see the story below). Many of us have participated in the North Carolina Department of Labor\u2019s investigation of the accident, and our hope is that the findings will result in real improvements to make our workplace safe and prevent future tragedies. We encourage all agents to work safe<\/em> and report any and all safety and health issues using the reporting mechanisms that are in place at their stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read More<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

—<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Survey of Piedmont Agents Reveals Health and Safety Risks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thank you to the nearly 500 Piedmont agents who completed the safety survey conducted by CWA in December 2019. The results are helping us approach management with concrete information to resolve health and safety issues that affect all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being understaffed is the number one safety concern because we are rushed to do our jobs, which raises the risk of missing safety steps.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Sandy Wizzard, CLT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Piedmont<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In the survey, Piedmont agents reported serious hazards on the job, including severe understaffing, poor equipment, and failures by management to address risks. We are determined to make sure that the company takes action to minimize these risks. We all deserve to feel safe on the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here <\/a>to read a summary of the survey results; or to view the complete survey results, click here<\/a>. Help us spread the word to every CWA agent about our efforts to make our workplaces safer by sharing this newsletter with coworkers who may not have received it. They can simply click here to sign up for our<\/a> <\/a>email alerts<\/a> today. And be sure to follow us on Facebook<\/a> for further updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agents at American Are Building Relationships to Tackle Air Rage at ORD<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Qushaun Naugle, Passenger Service Coordinator and President, CWA Local 4201 and Jennifer Morales, Gate Agent and Vice President, CWA Local 4201<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At airports across the country passenger service agents are preparing for the busy spring break season\u2014which can mean long lines, overbooked flights, and frustrated families. For agents those inconveniences become dangerous when passenger anger boils over into verbal or even physical abuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a simple bottom line for every passenger service agent, no matter what their position or the size of their station: We should be able to come to work without fear of angry customers abusing us with words or actions. We have strong support from our union in resolving disputes, and now we hope management will step up and continue to make improvements. We deserve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Qushaun<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We work for American Airlines at Chicago\u2019s O\u2019Hare International Airport (ORD), one of the world\u2019s busiest hubs, serving more than 80 million passengers a year. On behalf of CWA Local 4201, we\u2019ve been working with AA management and consulting with the Chicago Police Department for the past few months in order to make sure our agents are prepared and safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read More<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

—
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Union Pride Surges Among Envoy Agents Across the South<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Since the ratification of the first collective bargaining agreement with Envoy Air back in August 2019, there has been a powerful wave of enthusiasm growing among passenger service agents across the South. Dozens of agents have volunteered to train as stewards in order to help their fellow agents resolve problems and improve their workplaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our union represents more than 1,700 Envoy agents at 23 stations in CWA\u2019s District 3, which is comprised of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico. The largest group is at Miami International Airport, with 785 CWA agents right now and an additional 300 joining soon in ground security, equipment, and bag runner positions. Across the district, 48 new stewards have already been trained, and many more are eager to be trained as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"James<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe surge of excitement about the union is happening because everyone can see that we\u2019ve got their backs,\u201d says James McKnight, an Envoy agent at MIA. \u201cFor example, by following the procedures set out in our contract, we were able to bring back seven workers who had been fired in Miami.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Charleston, we won two important grievance victories, and our union has seen almost a 40 percent increase in union membership. Instead of the old system, in which the company could make arbitrary decisions, there are now clear rules to follow at every station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read More<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

—
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you haven’t visited our website for awhile, please check out CWAAgents.org<\/a>. We’ve updated the “Find Your Local” section and have added several new Piedmont locals. To stay up-to-date on bargaining, mobilization, and other issues, be sure to follow us on Facebook at American Agents Connected<\/a>, Piedmont Agents Connected<\/a>, and Envoy Agents<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Newsletter to Connect CWA Passenger Service Professionals Winter 2020 This is the CWA Agents Connected newsletter. CWA represents over 20,000 passenger service and fleet service employees at American Airlines, including mainline American Airlines and regional carriers Piedmont and Envoy. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-envoy"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cwa9003.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cwa9003.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cwa9003.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cwa9003.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cwa9003.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.cwa9003.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4512\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.cwa9003.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cwa9003.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.cwa9003.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}