US Airways passenger service agents,
members of the Communications Workers of America, have ratified changes to
their contract with US Airways to help the troubled airline as it seeks to
emerge from bankruptcy. The settlement was approved by a 60 percent vote in an Internet and
telephone ratification process under the aegis of the American Arbitration
Association. The contract, covering about 6,000 active agents, is
amendable beginning Jan. 1, 2012.

The bargaining committee of local union presidents recommended approval of
the settlement, given the carrier’s bankruptcy status and the past
decision of the bankruptcy judge to allow US Airways to temporarily cut
workers’ wages by 21 percent and implement further benefit cuts while
negotiations continued. Those cuts will end as the new ratified agreement
takes effect on Jan. 1.

This agreement reduces average wages by 12.9 percent, a huge improvement
over the 34 percent wage cut US Airways management was demanding in
earlier bargaining. Full details are available at http://www.cwa.net/.
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