The vote for union representation among passenger service agents at American Airlines fell 150 votes short of the required majority of voting agents, but the Communications Workers of America will continue to work with agents for a voice on the job and in their future. The National Mediation Board announced the vote Tuesday.

This is a cross-post from the Communications Workers of America (CWA).

Since the nearly 10,000 passenger service agents at American Airlines said in 2011 they wanted to vote on joining the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the airline has battled every step of the way. Now it says it is going to the U.S. Supreme Court to block the workers’ right to vote.

OMG, look up! Is that a flying pig? That was my thought when I read the latest bulletin from the Republican-controlled House Education and Workforce Committee announcing a hearing that would be “Examining Proposals to Strengthen the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).”

A federal judge in Texas today blocked an election by 10,000 American Airlines passenger service agents that the National Mediation Board (NMB) last week ordered to begin June 21. Last month, American filed suit against the NMB’s decision to allow the workers to vote on joining the Communications Workers of America (CWA). In a statement this afternoon CWA said:

Clearly the airline is afraid of workers having their democratic vote and has been fighting hard to stop it.

The National Mediation Board (NMB) decided last night to move forward with a union election at American Airlines among nearly 10,000 passenger service agents and the Communications Workers of America (CWA), and AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Ed Wytkind writes that the NMB did the right thing.

As I wrote in May, American has stonewalled a union election long enough through its illegal refusal to hand over an employee list to the NMB. It was time for American to comply with the law or for the NMB to move forward with an election. Unfortunately, American refused to comply with a legal NMB order for an election in May leaving the agency with no other choice but to conduct the election using an employee list submitted by passenger service agents and the CWA. The NMB has done the right thing here.

This is a cross-post by AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department President Edward Wytkind on Huffington Post. 

Lawbreaker. That is exactly what we need to start calling American Airlines for its blatant refusal to proceed with a union election among its 9,600 passenger service agents that was legally and properly ordered by the National Mediation Board (NMB).