http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/business...a8c9&ei=5087%0A
And at the end of the shift, a gate agent "shows up in my office and says, 'I'm whacked out,' " Mr. Hutchinson said. He refers some workers to mental health professionals, and offers others strategies for coping: Take a couple of deep breaths; go vent to a co-worker.
It's impossible to measure air rage accurately, but most experts think there is more of it these days. Joyce A. Hunter, a former Sara Nelson Dela Cruz, a United flight attendant and union official, said a lot of senior flight attendants schedule vacations "so they don't have to work the summer crowds."
"The airlines, federal government, general public need to sit down collectively and find a way to get the transportation system back in order," he said. "I've never seen it this bad."
http://cwa-union.org/search.jsp?query=airp...it=Submit+Query
US Airways Agents Speak Out on Staff Cuts, Air Rage
Deep staff cuts among airport and reservation agents at US Airways are hurting customer service, according to a scientific survey of 400 agents commissioned by CWA.
The survey is intended to focus management's attention on staffing and other problems facing airline workers, including airport rage.
Overall, 88 percent of agents agreed that "we are understaffed and as a result, passenger service suffers." Among airport agents, 41 percent tied staff cuts to service problems and 51 percent said that more staff was needed to improve service.
Reservations agents maintained that both cuts in staff and limited time to spend with callers resulted in poorer quality service. Nearly a third stressed the need for more time with customers.
Some 5,000 passenger service jobs have been cut at US Airways over the past two years.
Meanwhile, airport rage and abusive attacks on agents have increased. CWA local officers representing agents have been meeting monthly with US Airways management to discuss the workers' critical concerns.
But Tina Perry, president of CWA Local 13301 in Philadelphia, is concerned that US Airways management isn't giving airport rage the attention it deserves.
"Management insists that rage is a 'non-problem' that can be handled by calling the police, having a manager step in, or 'walking away,'" Perry said.
Other US Airways local officers have said managements' solutions don't work in real life and cited numerous examples of customers behaving in an out-of-control manner. Worse yet is management's policy of siding with irate passengers, they said.
Managers don't have any specific training to handle rage incidents, and Perry said many managers leave the scene so they won't be required to "step in."
CWA is pushing for the language in federal airport rage law, adopted by Congress after an active legislative campaign by CWA, to be posted at all airports. CWA is also calling on US Airways to provide training for managers on the law and intervention.
Almost half of all airport agents, 49 percent, reported seeing or experiencing an airport rage incident within the past six months. Almost as many, 48 percent, point to an increase in customer complaints and an increase in passenger wait times to check in, delays that can provoke customer rage.
Reservations agents reported high volumes of callers waiting to speak with an agent, with 32 saying that on an average day they have 51 to 100 callers waiting for assistance. Another 28 percent said they have twice that, between 101 and 200 callers waiting.
CWA won a big victory in its drive to gain federal protections for airline passenger service agents who are increasingly threatened by passengers and “airport rage” as they carry out their security duties.
And at the end of the shift, a gate agent "shows up in my office and says, 'I'm whacked out,' " Mr. Hutchinson said. He refers some workers to mental health professionals, and offers others strategies for coping: Take a couple of deep breaths; go vent to a co-worker.
It's impossible to measure air rage accurately, but most experts think there is more of it these days. Joyce A. Hunter, a former Sara Nelson Dela Cruz, a United flight attendant and union official, said a lot of senior flight attendants schedule vacations "so they don't have to work the summer crowds."
"The airlines, federal government, general public need to sit down collectively and find a way to get the transportation system back in order," he said. "I've never seen it this bad."
http://cwa-union.org/search.jsp?query=airp...it=Submit+Query
US Airways Agents Speak Out on Staff Cuts, Air Rage
Deep staff cuts among airport and reservation agents at US Airways are hurting customer service, according to a scientific survey of 400 agents commissioned by CWA.
The survey is intended to focus management's attention on staffing and other problems facing airline workers, including airport rage.
Overall, 88 percent of agents agreed that "we are understaffed and as a result, passenger service suffers." Among airport agents, 41 percent tied staff cuts to service problems and 51 percent said that more staff was needed to improve service.
Reservations agents maintained that both cuts in staff and limited time to spend with callers resulted in poorer quality service. Nearly a third stressed the need for more time with customers.
Some 5,000 passenger service jobs have been cut at US Airways over the past two years.
Meanwhile, airport rage and abusive attacks on agents have increased. CWA local officers representing agents have been meeting monthly with US Airways management to discuss the workers' critical concerns.
But Tina Perry, president of CWA Local 13301 in Philadelphia, is concerned that US Airways management isn't giving airport rage the attention it deserves.
"Management insists that rage is a 'non-problem' that can be handled by calling the police, having a manager step in, or 'walking away,'" Perry said.
Other US Airways local officers have said managements' solutions don't work in real life and cited numerous examples of customers behaving in an out-of-control manner. Worse yet is management's policy of siding with irate passengers, they said.
Managers don't have any specific training to handle rage incidents, and Perry said many managers leave the scene so they won't be required to "step in."
CWA is pushing for the language in federal airport rage law, adopted by Congress after an active legislative campaign by CWA, to be posted at all airports. CWA is also calling on US Airways to provide training for managers on the law and intervention.
Almost half of all airport agents, 49 percent, reported seeing or experiencing an airport rage incident within the past six months. Almost as many, 48 percent, point to an increase in customer complaints and an increase in passenger wait times to check in, delays that can provoke customer rage.
Reservations agents reported high volumes of callers waiting to speak with an agent, with 32 saying that on an average day they have 51 to 100 callers waiting for assistance. Another 28 percent said they have twice that, between 101 and 200 callers waiting.
CWA won a big victory in its drive to gain federal protections for airline passenger service agents who are increasingly threatened by passengers and “airport rage” as they carry out their security duties.
