Boston, MA 09/17/2014 (wallstreetpr) – American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL)’s passenger service agents took sides with the union by casting vote in favor of a joint bargain.
Majority Vote
According to a Reuters report, it is for the first time that a majority has been achieved between the nonunion customer service members and union members. The union informed that an 86% vote was cast in support of collective bargaining. The move is expected to initiate a faster integration of employees after the merger of American and US Airways Group Inc (NYSE:LCC). As the airlines had amalgamated, they formed the biggest airline if the world, in terms of passenger traffic.
At present, the union consists of employees of only US Airways because a prior pre-merger vote conducted by the employees of American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL) had failed to form a majority. The US Airways workers represented the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 2004 until before merger. On the other hand, the union representing the workers of American since 2000 until before the merger was the Communications Workers of America (CWA). While 9,640 agents of the CWA support the joint union, 1,547 are against it. As of now, the vote influences 14,500 agents, belonging to both the groups of companies. Hence, they can bargain collective labor agreements now.
New Moves
Separately, United Airlines announced the ratification of a new labor contract with the airline’s 48 maintenance instructors. A spokesperson of The National Mediation Board also said that the Allied Pilots Association will negotiate for future contracts. The pilots at American were hence ruled to represent pilots of US Airways in such cases.
The decisions highlight recent unionizing attempts by U.S. airlines. The vote also underscores the change of opinion at American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL), which did not support organizing attempts in the past. Industry experts and union leaders speculate that the agents at American had been discouraging such endeavors for almost two decades.
