FAQ
Q. What other airline agents are members of CWA?
Q. How does building a union work?
Q. Isn’t it true that unions protect bad employees?
Q.What other passenger service professionals are represented by CWA?
A. In the airline industry, CWA members include passenger service professionals at American Airlines, US Airways and Piedmont Airlines as well as Flight Attendants at 19 carriers through the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA which represents over 60,000 aviation professionals.
Q. How can I get involved?
A. If you’d like to get involved, let us know. Send us an email to info@envoyagents.org
Q.How does building a union work?
A. Building a union means talking to your coworkers, discussing issues, building a committee and working towards majority support. Read more about how building a union works.
Q. How do union dues work?
A. We will not pay dues until a contract is negotiated, voted on and approved by members. There are no dues applied to overtime, extra shifts worked, and when not receiving a paycheck.
Dues are a very small percentage of pay. For example, current US Airways CWA members pay only 1.3% of their base pay in dues to their local union and there is no initiation fee.
Q. How much are union dues?
A. Union dues are based on our hourly salary and full-time/part-time status. If an agent makes $15 per hour and work full-time then union dues would be $16.95 per pay period. Union dues will not be collected until our first contract is negotiated and voted in. If the first contract is not voted in by us, we go back to negotiations. Dues will not start until we have voted to accept a contract.
Q. Isn’t it true that unions protect bad employees?
A. Unions are required by law to represent all their members. If an employee is not performing up to par, it is the company’s responsibility to coach, counsel and train their employees to bring them up to standards. If the company has written proof that they have coached and counseled an employee who is not up to standards then it’s hard for the union to protect them. The union also has the right to decide that money will not spent in the final step of a grievance procedure, arbitration. If an employee has not been coached and counseled by management, then the union has the obligation to ensure an employee is represented and receives the proper training or coaching. The union ensures that all regulations, rules and contract items are enforced in the same manner for all employees.