From the CWA website:
http://www.apsa6001.org/news/index.asp?id=7
American creates a "union" for its Mexico City agents
4/13/2004
American Airlines, which has vigorously fought against numerous efforts by its U.S.-based passenger service agents to form a union, apparently did not stand in the way of a union being established for its growing number of agents in Mexico City, with 300 now employed.
What sort of labor contract did the agents negotiate with American Airlines' management? None, very likely. Many agents may not even know they have a union.
If the Mexico City agents' union is true to the style of "protectionist" unions that are prevalent throughout Mexico (the union's name is unknown), the agents had absolutely no say in its formation, nor in their working conditions, union dues, or even who runs "their" union.
American Airlines tried to claim that calls in the U.S. were not being rerouted to agents in Mexico City or other countries, but the company later admitted, reported the Associated Press, "that it unintentionally misspoke at the time."
What is the point of the union? Protectionist unions in Mexico offer protection for employers against workers who might be thinking about organizing a real union. Because of weak and paternalistic labor laws, many of Mexico's labor unions are corrupt, undemocratic organizations.
Protectionist unions exist for the company and the group or individual who runs the union. There is no real contract for workers. Any agreement is no more than an understanding between the company and the union, but protectionist unions are frequently headed by an attorney or a single individual. The company gets a "union" workforce which prevents workers from trying to organize a democratic union. The "union" collects dues from the workers and, often, a nice remuneration from its "client."
Protectionist-type unions are so widespread in Mexico that an estimated 85 percent of labor contracts there are never renegotiated. This is because the contracts were never negotiated by the workers in the first place.
American strongly denied that the opening of the call center in Mexico City came at the expense of agents' jobs in the U.S. According to the Associated Press, "AMR spokesman Carlo Bertolini. . . said the newly-hired bilingual Mexican workers are not replacing jobs. Instead, employees who worked for AMR's now defunct U.S.-based 'Spanish desk" have merely seen their job responsibilities change."
However, for most of the Spanish-speaking agents in the U.S., this "job responsibility change" has meant unemployment. American closed down its Spanish desks in Norfolk and at the SRO in Ft. Worth, and recently closed down its office in Puerto Rico. Including the reservation offices in Las Vegas and St. Louis that it also closed down, the jobs of more than 1,500 agents were impacted. It is unlikely that many of these agents found new job opportunities after their office was closed.
American Airlines tried to claim that calls in the U.S. were not being rerouted to agents in Mexico City or other countries, but the company later admitted, reported the Associated Press, "that it unintentionally misspoke at the time."
Earlier, a number of the Mexico City agents confirmed to CWA that they were handling overflow English-language calls from the United States.
American is now building up a call center in Santa Domingo in the even lower-wage Dominican Republic. Agents there can make $175 a month. In Mexico, monthly pay can reach $800.
http://www.apsa6001.org/news/index.asp?id=7
American creates a "union" for its Mexico City agents
4/13/2004
American Airlines, which has vigorously fought against numerous efforts by its U.S.-based passenger service agents to form a union, apparently did not stand in the way of a union being established for its growing number of agents in Mexico City, with 300 now employed.
What sort of labor contract did the agents negotiate with American Airlines' management? None, very likely. Many agents may not even know they have a union.
If the Mexico City agents' union is true to the style of "protectionist" unions that are prevalent throughout Mexico (the union's name is unknown), the agents had absolutely no say in its formation, nor in their working conditions, union dues, or even who runs "their" union.
American Airlines tried to claim that calls in the U.S. were not being rerouted to agents in Mexico City or other countries, but the company later admitted, reported the Associated Press, "that it unintentionally misspoke at the time."
What is the point of the union? Protectionist unions in Mexico offer protection for employers against workers who might be thinking about organizing a real union. Because of weak and paternalistic labor laws, many of Mexico's labor unions are corrupt, undemocratic organizations.
Protectionist unions exist for the company and the group or individual who runs the union. There is no real contract for workers. Any agreement is no more than an understanding between the company and the union, but protectionist unions are frequently headed by an attorney or a single individual. The company gets a "union" workforce which prevents workers from trying to organize a democratic union. The "union" collects dues from the workers and, often, a nice remuneration from its "client."
Protectionist-type unions are so widespread in Mexico that an estimated 85 percent of labor contracts there are never renegotiated. This is because the contracts were never negotiated by the workers in the first place.
American strongly denied that the opening of the call center in Mexico City came at the expense of agents' jobs in the U.S. According to the Associated Press, "AMR spokesman Carlo Bertolini. . . said the newly-hired bilingual Mexican workers are not replacing jobs. Instead, employees who worked for AMR's now defunct U.S.-based 'Spanish desk" have merely seen their job responsibilities change."
However, for most of the Spanish-speaking agents in the U.S., this "job responsibility change" has meant unemployment. American closed down its Spanish desks in Norfolk and at the SRO in Ft. Worth, and recently closed down its office in Puerto Rico. Including the reservation offices in Las Vegas and St. Louis that it also closed down, the jobs of more than 1,500 agents were impacted. It is unlikely that many of these agents found new job opportunities after their office was closed.
American Airlines tried to claim that calls in the U.S. were not being rerouted to agents in Mexico City or other countries, but the company later admitted, reported the Associated Press, "that it unintentionally misspoke at the time."
Earlier, a number of the Mexico City agents confirmed to CWA that they were handling overflow English-language calls from the United States.
American is now building up a call center in Santa Domingo in the even lower-wage Dominican Republic. Agents there can make $175 a month. In Mexico, monthly pay can reach $800.
