American Agents Standing Strong for a CWA Voice

American Airlines agents and CWA are continuing their efforts to get a voice on the job and in their future, following a narrow loss in the representation election among 7,800 agents.

The vote for CWA fell just 150 votes short of the required majority of voting agents, out of nearly 6,000 votes cast. The National Mediation Board announced the vote on Jan. 15.

Hundreds of agents at American Airlines have been active in this fight for a union for more than 15 years, and they won't stop now. There is no doubt that this group will get the union voice they want, and the potential merger of American Airlines and US Airways provides another opportunity for American agents to have a union voice, since US Airways agents have union representation.

Salma Kassam, a Dallas-Fort Worth agent, said agents did very well, considering all the obstacles the company put in front of them.

"We only lost by 150 votes," said Rosemary Capasso, another DFW agent. "That is nothing. We will get more votes from Dallas-Ft. Worth next time, and I know you feel the same way in Chicago, JFK, Miami. Next time we will win."

American Airlines filed for bankruptcy in late 2011, with $4 billion in the bank. Last year, it cut 2,000 agents' jobs, and forced some reservations agents to work at home or leave the airline. There are just about 7,800 agents today, down from nearly 10,000 about a year ago.

"The fact that agents even got to this election is a feat in itself, given that their vote was delayed more than a year. Agents at American Airlines will continue to stand strong and work for a voice at their airline, and CWA will be with them," said CWA Organizing Director Sandy Rusher. "These are amazing leaders who have given their heart, integrity, intelligence, commitment and determination to this effort. We'll continue to work with them."