| | agents if they take Home Based Jobs, they lose all the above. If the protections American Airlines gave us during our last union drive were written in a union contract they would have been legally binding.
Agents at US Airways would have kept full benefits with their contract because Home Based Jobs are considered the same as in- house Reservations Jobs with a slightly lower pay scale but the same benefits as in house reservations agents.
Rules for monitoring and taping of calls are spelled out in a union contract. They cannot be changed unless changes are negotiated with our union. This protects employees from inconsistent and subjective handling of training and disciplinary action.
In cases with no misconduct, but the person monitoring or taping thinks you could have handle your calls better, management wouldn't be able to issue disciplinary steps without first offering retraining or counseling on how to improve your jobs skills. This would have to be documented to show the company has taken the necessary steps to assist the employee to do their job better.
If management has taken all steps necessary to get an agent in line with company procedures and requirements, then steps could be taken to issue warnings. Now, at American Airlines, the company doesn't always follow their own PPC guidelines. Most of us have seen agents treated differently for the same infractions depending on who is issuing and who is receiving disciplinary action.
Management at any company has the right to record and monitor calls. The only way to ensure that they are being handled in a fair and consistent manner is to have the procedures in a legally binding contract. Even in situations with unions, bad management decisions can be made, and for that reason you have a grievance procedure that allows both sides to present their cases with a decision made by a neutral third party if either side is questioning the procedures and discipline that was followed.
In cases where management has written proof that they have tried to retrain, or counsel employees to do their jobs better, and it hasn't worked, then even the union may not fight disciplinary action because the employee has been treated fairly. This squashes the rumors that unions protect "bad" employees, especially if management has followed their own rules and the contract.
Many reservations agents have asked us how a union would deal with the new monitoring system, NICE, in reservations.
According the company's website the system will captures all interactions, both screen and voice. The computer program can analyze your calls based on rules set by American Airlines and store what information they deem necessary.
This new program scores all recorded interaction and identifies callas that don't meet the company's quality guidelines. Things like placing a customer on hold for too long, multiple transfers of calls,and inappropriate language by the caller or the employee, will alert a manager to take action.
Rumors were circulating around the SRO that a bunch of people were terminated or given career decision days because of calls that were taped by this system. Recently, management at the SRO, held voluntary meetings to discuss the rumors and agents were told that the company is not looking for things to fire people to lower the head count.
With union representation in call centers, both airline and non-airline companies, most contracts do not allow monitoring or taped calls to be used for disciplinary action except in the case of gross misconduct.
The problem with monitoring calls is that the scoring of the calls can be very subjective depending on who is monitoring them. The old way of monitoring was really subjective because calls were not recorded for the most part. The good part of recording calls is that the "evidence" is saved and with a union contract would have to be given to the union in order to assist an agent with a grievance should they feel they are being treated unfairly.
Currently disciplinary action isn't always consistent and different management handles it in different ways. With union representation a trained union steward (a fellow employee elected by their peers) would be allowed to accompany an agent to a meeting with a supervisor if the meeting could lead to any type of disciplinary action and the union ensures that agents are being treated fairly and consistently across the board.
American Airlines and most other companies will tell their employees, if they vote for a union they are going to lose the opportunity to have any sort of direct relationship with their supervisors and that a union steward would have to go with them to any meetings they may have with their supervisor. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's an option that you will have but aren't forced to take.
A. Call monitoring may be utilized by the company. To assure courteous treatment, accurate information and superior service, customer calls may be monitored to assist in the training and development of employees, identification of customer needs and product evaluation. B. Where monitoring is conducted, it will be performed by trained observers with consistent standards applied at all locations and to all employees.
Monitoring includes but is not limited to the following: 1. Service Observations: Monitoring of this type is intended to randomly review the performance of the work group to determine their effectiveness in providing quality service to customers. Official Service Observations, made at the direction of the Company for the primary purpose of determining the overall quality of service furnished to customers, are not intended nor will they be used for the purpose of identifying or rating the performance of individual employees.
2. Diagnostic: Monitoring of this type is intended to review and evaluate new or changed products, practices and procedures.
3. Evaluative/Developmental: Monitoring of this type is intended to be handled in a confidential manner to document performance of the individual employee for evaluation purposes. Call monitoring of an employee will be based on criteria established by the Company. The criteria to determine the amount of monitoring and standards expected of each employee will be provided to each employee. Any changes to the criteria will be immediately communicated to the union.
C. Feedback from all calls monitored will be provided to the employee by the end of the day of the completed contact or no later than their next scheduled work day. The employee will be notified of exceptional service or gross misconduct immediately.
D. Employees shall not be disciplined as a result of call monitoring except for gross misconduct, fraud, violation of privacy of communications, or when developmental efforts have not been successful.
E. The Company reserves the right to record calls that will be used for monitoring.
Reservations' Call Taping and Monitoring Causing Concern in Res Offices.
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CLick on the CWA wings below to be taken to the US Airways agents' contract. .
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Call Monitoring Guidelines from the US Airways Agents' contract.
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Update your address and contact information to continue receiving information about our union efforts once you have moved to your new location.
Click on the CONTACT US link on the left side of the page to send us your new information.
Home Based Reservations Agents are eligible to vote in our union election with all other reservations and airport agents. If you are a Home Based Agent and want more information about the union, or would like to set up a meeting, send us an email from the CONTACT US link.
During our last elections many agents were told by supervisors that if they voted for a union the company could close their office. We have watched the company close 8 offices since 2002 with no union.
Are you tired of not having a voice on the job yet?
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