> From: Dave Newman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: CWA Organizing Win > > September 30, 1997 > > In Big Victory for Labor, Workers at US Airways Vote to Unionize > > By STEVEN GREENHOUSE > > In the biggest union organizing election in private business in > a decade, nearly 10,000 reservations takers, gate agents and ticket > sellers at US Airways have voted to join the Communications Workers > of America, federal labor officials announced on Monday. > The union won the support of the airline's passenger service > workers by following a strategy being embraced throughout labor -- > emphasizing that corporate profits have rebounded while employee > pay and benefits have languished. > Union leaders immediately hailed the victory, saying it showed > that white-collar workers were fertile ground for labor's message > and that the union movement's new focus on recruiting workers was > paying off. > "The victory at US Airways is very significant," said Kate > Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell > University. "It's not just because it involved so many workers, > but it's the kind of workers that people questioned whether the > labor movement could organize. These are white-collar workers in an > industry where unions have really been struggling." > John Sweeney, the AFL-CIO's president, and other labor leaders > have looked to the US Airways organizing drive as a bellwether to > show whether labor was reversing its decline, especially in the > private sector. Labor unions represent 14.5 percent of the overall > work force, a sharp drop from 35 percent in the 1950s. > "The level of unionization has reached a 50-year low in this > country, with unions representing just 10 percent of the private > sector, compared with 40 percent in the public sector," said Kent > Wong, director of the Center for Labor Research and Education at > the University of California at Los Angeles. "The AFL-CIO has > focused tremendous attention lately on organizing in the private > sector, and they've been looking for a big win like this for some > time. They want to show that unions can win in the private > sector." > Nonetheless, union officials acknowledge that it will often be > an uphill battle to unionize workers at many companies, especially > when employers take such action as dismissing workers who head > organizing drives. Last month, for example, the Union of > Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees lost a drive to > organize 5,000 workers at 12 Fieldcrest Cannon factories in North > Carolina, but union officials assert that the company broke the > federal law against intimidating workers. > In a statement, US Airways said on Monday that it would accept > its legal obligations to recognize and bargain with the > communications workers, while it appeals a mediator's decision that > allowed the election. Richard Weintraub, a company spokesman > declined further comment. > Union leaders cite the US Airways drive as an example of labor's > increased ability to succeed in complex organizing drives, in which > thousands of workers are spread across many states -- the US Airways > workers are in 110 cities, from San Diego to Orlando, Fla., to New > York. > Jeffrey Miller, a spokesman for the communications workers, said > his union hoped to use the US Airways victory as a springboard to > unionize 14,000 passenger service workers at United Air Lines. > Industry officials estimate that there are 60,000 passenger-service > workers in the airline industry who do not belong to unions. The > only passenger service workers who are organized are at Northwest > Airlines and TWA. > US Airways workers who voted for the union said they did so > because they wanted a collective voice to represent them in dealing > with a company that froze their wages and reduced their pensions > and sick leave over the last four years while nursing itself back > to financial health. > Many of the airline's passenger-service workers have been > especially unhappy that they have had to accept larger concessions > than those agreed to by the airline's unionized pilots, mechanics > and flight attendants. > In cutting costs to restore its profitability, US Airways > eliminated paid holidays and sick days for passenger-service > workers, deducting sick days from vacation time. > The issue that really started this was all the other labor > groups were represented and had a voice when the company hit a > downturn," said Timothy Yost, a a Pittsburgh-based customer > service agent. "But we were told we'd have to take worse > concessions that the other labor groups. They were forced upon us. > Having a union should put us on a level playing field." > Josie Esposito, a reservations agent in San Diego, also strongly > backed the organizing campaign. "People are finally waking up to > the fact that they need protection and that means a union," she > said. "The company's stock has been going up, from $4 to over $40, > and our wages haven't gone anywhere." Shares of the company rose > 83 cents to $42.69 on Monday. > Because the US Airways workers are covered by the Railway Labor > Act, rather than the National Labor Relations Act, an absolute > majority of all workers in the proposed bargaining unit must vote > for unionization for the union to win the right to represent them. > Under the rules set by the National Mediation Board, which > oversaw the election, only the 8,800 passenger-service workers > hired before April 1996 were allowed to vote. But with the union's > triumph, the communications workers will represent all 10,000 > passenger-service workers. > In the election, in which ballots were mailed in and then > counted on Monday, 4,773 workers, or 54 percent, voted to join the > communications workers, while 77 voted for other unions. > Last January, the communications workers failed to organize the > US Airways workers because the union fell 280 votes short of a > majority. But the National Mediation Board ordered a new election, > finding that the company had made improper claims about how many > changes could be wrought by an in-house employees committee set up > by the company. > US Airways said today that it would continue to appeal the > board's decision to overturn the previous election. In fighting the > union, US Airways executives contended that they would be fair to > all employee groups and would treat passenger-service workers as > well as others. The company also argued that the workers could deal > with the company more easily without a union. > > > Copyright 1997 The New York Times Company > >
