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UCW Members Make Major Progress towards Living Wages After seven years of advocating for a living wage that would ensure that full-time employees could make ends meet, members of United Campus Workers-CWA Local 3865 at the University of Memphis are making progress on seeing a substantial pay raise. Last week, U of M President M. David Rudd sent out an email to faculty and staff in support of a joint resolution passed by the Faculty Senate and the Staff Senate to raise the minimum wage at the university to $15 per hour. Now, UCW members are turning the fight towards making sure the university takes immediate action on President Rudd's words. "We know incremental raises for the lowest paid employees will not help them keep up with inflation or keep up with other institutions that are now providing a living wage. UCW has done the math and we know there are immediate solutions to this problem and welcome a conversation with decision-makers to make this happen next budget cycle," said Ed McDaniel, President of UCW-CWA Local 3865. — Jan 17
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Bargaining Update KPFA 94.1 FM The CWA Local 9415 union bargaining committee is ready to advocate for a fair contract as they head into bargaining with KPFA 94.1 FM in Berkeley, Calif. — Jan 17
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If You're a New Yorker, It's Now Easier to Vote! New York has had some of the most restrictive, antiquated voting laws in the country. But now, thanks to the hard work of CWA members and retirees during last year's election to bring new leadership in the state legislative chambers, legislators passed a much-needed wave of voting reforms. The new legislation includes early voting, same-day voting registration, pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds, portable registration, only one primary day, and no-excuse absentee voting. CWAers in District 1 led the way along with other labor unions and activists, calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo to make voting reform a top priority. — Jan 17
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CWA Supports Teachers on Strike in Los Angeles CWA members in District 9 are showing strong support for the 32,000 teachers across Los Angeles who are on strike in the nation's second-largest school district. The strike by members of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) comes after almost two years of negotiating on wages, class sizes, and more money for counselors, school nurses, and librarians. Members of CWA Local 9003 were out in force showing support for striking teachers at three Los Angeles schools. — Jan 17
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Gate and Ramp Agents at American Airlines Subsidiary Report Hazardous Conditions Company injury logs, inspections by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) indicate hundreds of preventable injuries, shortfall in company's approach to safety NATIONWIDE – A new report drawing from a nationwide survey of 800 passenger service agents at Envoy Air (American Eagle), data from company injury logs and OSHA inspections reveals dangerous conditions affecting agents at the American Airlines subsidiary that should raise red flags for the flying public. Envoy Air agents reported serious safety hazards on the job due to unreasonable time pressures, high turnover and chronic understaffing, low wages and long hours, and a management culture that forces workers to cut corners to maintain an on-time schedule and avoid discipline and puts them at risk of injury. The survey was conducted by the workers' union, the Communications Workers of America (CWA). It is the first to examine safety hazards at Envoy Air and indicates the company is stretching its frontline staff, whose wages start as low as $9.48 per hour and reach only $15.71 after 11 years of service, past their ability to ensure a safe, efficient boarding and departure process for passengers. Department of Transportation figures show that American's on-time departures took a sharp dip this summer and the airline continued to struggle in the fall. Envoy Air passenger service agents work at some of the nation's biggest and busiest airports as well as smaller regional airports that connect flyers to travel destinations around the country. With average pay of just $11.50 per hour, they provide services essential to ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for flyers, such as managing pre-flight checks, de-escalating tense situations and helping passengers re-book their flights during inclement weather. They also work on the runway ramp loading and unloading baggage, guiding planes on the tarmac, deicing planes, supplying potable water, removing lavatory waste, and ensuring aircraft are inspected and safe before takeoff. "American Airlines is spending billions on stock buybacks and multi-million dollar executive paychecks rather than investing its employees. Passengers should be deeply concerned," said Richard Honeycutt, Communications Workers of America District 3 Vice President and Chair of CWA's Passenger Service Airline Council. "Envoy Air agents' best efforts to safely get planes out on time are thwarted by a company that sets flight schedules that are dangerous and unsustainable with the high level of employee turnover due to low wages." The survey underscores evidence of serious safety concerns on the runway and at the gate. It was conducted online between December 3 and December 14, 2018, with 800 Envoy agents participating and more than 88 Envoy airport locations represented. Survey respondents work in a mix of roles, including 39% who work inside the airport, 23% who work outside on the ramp and 38% who work both inside and outside at smaller stations. Consistently low wages at Envoy are at the root of high turnover and high stress on the job, even as gate and ramp agents contend with dangerous time pressures from management. Major findings include:
- Nearly eighty percent (79%) of survey participants report feeling rushed to do their jobs during all or most shifts. Seventy-six percent of agents cite understaffing as the top one or two reasons for feeling rushed, and 70% of agents report experiencing understaffing during all or most of their shifts.
- Seventy-four percent of respondents rated demanding flight schedules and delays/cancellations as the top one or two contributing factor causing time pressure.
- Nearly half (47%) of agents who work on the runway ramp report they are unable to complete every required damage inspection of aircrafts, many citing time pressure and understaffing.
- A majority (51%) of agents on the runway ramp report working with defective equipment during all or most shifts.
- Fifty-eight percent of agents who do aircraft cabin searches for contraband or other risks before flights do not have enough time to complete the search.
- Nearly half (49%) of agents surveyed feel pressure to skip using the bag sizer once, or multiple times on every flight. The bag-sizer is designed to restrict overweight/oversized bags being stored inside the cabin of the plane and prevent compromising the aircraft's weight and balance system.
- Forty percent of agents are unable to complete walk-around inspections of aircraft to check for signs of visible operational risks like low tire pressure, fuel and/or oil leaks, or visible damage to the wings or body of the plane.
- Company-maintained OSHA workplace injury and illness logs show 1,459 recordable injuries/illnesses across all Envoy airport employees over a 21-month period from Jan 2017-Sept 2018.
- Of those injuries, 829 were strains and sprains, a category of injuries often caused by ergonomic hazards and made worse by a high-pressure environment like that at Envoy. The reported cause of at least 596 injuries was an ergonomic issue: lifting, pushing or pulling, twisting or bending.
- From Jan 2008-Sept 2018, OSHA inspected Envoy work sites on 26 occasions, and 10 of those inspections resulted in citations that included violations of OSHA standards.
- Long hours and low pay: "Because we don't make enough money there is always a need for more. So we have to work 2 other jobs to make end[s] meet. Which makes you tired and not as alert. Then it becomes a safety issue," said an agent with less than six months' experience at Shreveport Regional Airport in Louisiana
- Time pressure demands: "Pressure for on-time departures is so immense that being a nervous wreck and questioning safety is a constant, daily thing," said an agent with more than ten years' experience at Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport in Texas
- Understaffing: "My station is understaffed to a point of insanity…We are overworked and overexhausted, which makes for a very dangerous combination," said an agent with one year of experience at Dane County Regional Airport in Wisconsin
- Impact of high employee turnover: "Working with undertrained co-workers is a danger to us all, all day long....which puts stress on our minds and bodies, sets us up for injury and failure," said one agent with more than 10 years' experience at Wichita Dwight Eisenhower National Airport in Kansas
- Injuries and illnesses: "[W]e are regularly put in the position to work unsafe. I tore my rotator cuff due to heavy bags [and] no team lift during rushed turns, then subsequently fell over an extension cord stretched across a doorway reinjuring my shoulder to the point of surgery," described an agent with four years of experience at Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas