By a margin of 150 votes, American Airlines' passenger service agents voted against being represented by the Communication Workers of America.
About 6,000 workers cast votes in the election, with 2,902 agents voting in favor of a union and 3,052 voting against.American spokeswoman Missy Cousino said the carrier, which went to court to try and block the vote, was pleased that the employees chose to remain independent."American thanks everyone who took part in this election," Cousino said. "The company looks forward to continuing to work closely and directly with our agents and representatives as we build the new American Airlines."The union may have another chance at organizing the agents if American merges with US Airways. About 6,000 passenger service agents at US Airways are represented jointly by the CWA and the Teamsters. If there is a merger, the passenger service agents at both carriers would have to decide if they wanted union representation.When the CWA originally filed its application for a representation vote with federal authorities in December 2011, there were about 9,700 passenger service agents at American eligible to vote in the election. The union needed a majority of the votes cast to win the right to represent the workers.However, since American's parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2011, the union says 2,000 agent jobs were eliminated, leaving only about 7,800 agents today.The representation vote was not held until a year after the CWA filed its application because American filed several legal challenges .The carrier had objected that the union did not collect authorization cards from 50 percent of workers, as required by a new law enacted in February. The National Mediation Board, which oversees union representation votes, argued that the previous 35 percent standard should be used since the application for an election was filed under the old standards."The fact that agents even got to this election is a feat in itself," CWA organizing director Sandy Rusher said in a statement Tuesday. "Agents at American Airlines will continue to stand strong and work for a voice at their airline, and CWA will be with them."Andrea Ahles, 817-390-7631Twitter: @Sky_TalkHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
