Airline Division Week In Review - September 21, 2014

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American Airlines, US Airways Passenger Service Agents Vote To Join Teamsters-CWA Association  In a vote announced this week by the National Mediation Board (NMB), more than 15,000 passenger service professionals at the newly-merged American-US Airways have voted to join the CWA-IBT Customer Service Employee Association. The joint effort to organize passenger service agents was led by Communication Workers of American (CWA) which will represent about 7,500 new members; 1,300 new members will be represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.  Agents at both airlines voted over the phone and online in a month-long election administered by the NMB. The results were tallied and it was announced today that the workers had voted for the CWA-IBT Association by a 6-to-1 margin.  “We are honored to represent a total of more than 3,000 passenger service agents at the New American Airlines,” said Teamsters Airline Division Director David Bourne. “The Teamsters are committed to providing American Airlines employees and our existing members at US Airways with strong representation as both airlines continue to integrate in this merger.”  Prior to its merger with American Airlines, US Airways’ passenger service agents were represented by CWA in the east with approximately 4,700 members and by the Teamsters in the west with about 1,800 members. The shared representation was the result of US Airways’ merger in 2005 with America West Airlines whose customer service agents were Teamsters. US Airways’ latest merger with American Airlines, whose agents were nonunion, led to an election to determine representation for all agents at the newly-merged carrier.  “With our partners in CWA, the Teamsters are leading the way in protecting airline professionals involved in the biggest airline merger in history,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “Our union is dedicated to fighting on behalf of workers in this volatile industry. Our new members at the combined American-US Airways now have two of the strongest airline unions in their corner.  Allegiant Airlines Dispatchers Negotiations Continue The Allegiant Airlines Dispatcher Negotiations Committee prepared for negotiations on Tuesday andWednesday this week. Discussions are on hold because there is no Company negotiator available after their principal negotiator left for another company.    Last month the union was advised that Ford Harrison attorney assigned to replace the principal negotiator for the Company is also leaving.  As yet, no replacement has been named. Consequently, on Tuesday and Wednesday the group continued preparation of contract sections for proposal to the Company the next time they meet.    The next negotiating session will be scheduled contingent upon the appointment of the next Company principal negotiator. Airline Industry News Governmental and Regulatory Acting National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Christopher Hart won approval to serve full term atop the accident investigatory panel from a Senate committee on Wednesday. Hart was appointed permanently to the post by President Obama in June after he took over the helm of the NTSB in April when long-time former NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman left the agency.  Airlines, Industry and Labor Dave Barger, the CEO of JetBlue Airways, plans to leave his position in February after his contract expires. Robin Hayes, a former executive for British Airways, will assume the CEO role on Feb. 16. Hayes was appointed president in January, and recently received U.S. citizenship.   U.S. airlines employed the equivalent of 386,243 full-time workers in July, up 1.3% from July 2013, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. It was the eighth straight month of industry year-over-year employment gains.   Air freight volumes across the globe rose 6.7% in July compared to the same month last year, according to Airports Council International. "The recovery in world trade -- coupled with improvement in business confidence and domestic demand, particularly in the United States -- are largely attributed to the strong [air freight] recovery," ACI said.   Southwest Airlines is looking to work with labor unions to trim costs. More than 80% of Southwest workers belong to a union. "The nice thing is we have opportunities in our contract negotiations to address waste, to address inefficiencies, to improve productivity," CEO Gary Kelly said.   United Airlines and Republic Airways Holdings announced Wednesday that one of Republic’s units will operate 50 76-seat Embraer E175 jets for United’s United Express regional operations.  As Delta Air Lines prepares to ground 25% of its Boeing 747s, the carrier is offering early retirement to up to 50 pilots of the jumbo jets. Earlier this year, more than 1,000 employees accepted the carrier's offer of early retirement.   Workers at a FedEx Corp warehouse in western Canada have successfully unionized, the first employees besides pilots at the package delivery company to organize in North America, a local Teamsters union said on Wednesday.  United Airlines is offering some flight attendants with seniority up to $100,000 buyouts. "Recalling furloughed flight attendants and aligning our staffing to match our flying schedule will further facilitate the company and AFA reaching a joint collective bargaining agreement," said Mike Bonds, executive vice president for human resources at United. The Association of Flight Attendants lauded the move.