Our Voice Needs to Be Heard

June 13, 2014

A report from Tammy Woods, American Airlines Customer Service Agent, DFW

As Chair of the Agent Advisory Board, I was invited to Doug Parker’s quarterly meeting with union leaders, including the CWA-IBT Association, to hear the earnings report. Doug Parker’s leadership team also attended.

In addition to the report, the meeting provided an opportunity for front line employees to present operational issues that require immediate attention directly to the leadership team without red tape or the possibility of repercussions. It also provided information directly from the top for union leaders to share with their members, avoiding the subtle changes that may occur when information is filtered through a several levels of management.

The professionalism of the CWA/IBT representatives who brought up issues that were not being handled at a local level was impressive. At one point, they even corrected a comment Doug Parker had made at a town hall meeting that ended up on video. They wanted him to know that the agents at American did not “vote” to outsource airport jobs.

This time was well spent in opening avenues of communication between management and front-line work groups and in getting various operational issues out in the open.

Communication between members and union leaders and between union leaders and management appears to be good. The union leaders showed me that walls can be broken down and avenues opened up for our voice to be heard at the new American Airlines.