News

US Airways: Bargaining Committee and Staff Work Toward Agreement

07 Nov, 2013

By Velvet Hawthorne

Since the start of bargaining in July 2011, the Bargaining Committee and staff have travelled almost monthly to either Phoenix, Charlotte, or Washington, DC, to meet—along with our fellow Teamster bargainers—with the company’s bargaining team.

It became clear in late 2012 that the company was not committed to reaching an agreement with us in the short term, in part because their focus had shifted to the merger with American Airlines. Bargaining progress slowed to a crawl as the merger process heated up earlier this year.

By last July, the Committee had agreed that if we could reach an interim agreement with the company to provide members with a much-deserved raise and other improvements, we could resume genuine bargaining after the merger.

The company offered a tentative Letter of Agreement (LOA) on July 30, 2013. However, the Bargaining Committee decided not to put the LOA forward for consideration by the membership after the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit on August 13th against US Airways and American Airlines in an effort to stop the merger.

After the tentative LOA was circulated, members expressed their concerns about the AA vendor language. The Committee and staff understand those concerns and have communicated them to the company.

Management has asked for a meeting to discuss members’ concerns and the possibility of a new LOA, and the Committee has agreed that the bargaining chairs will participate in such a meeting. The Committee will continue to communicate with members about the process, and we welcome your constructive input as we work toward a fair letter of agreement.

However, the Bargaining Committee and staff cannot reach a fair contract on our own. We need the active, visible support of members at every station and reservations office to show the company that members are willing to stand up and fight for fairness and respect.