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Ticket Technology and Job Security
When the U.S. government dropped the 14-year old requirement for airline ticket agents to ask every passenger three questions about who packed their bags, the last barrier to the e-ticket revolution would seem to be swept aside.

Passengers would soon be able to select a flight and purchase a ticket from home, then retrieve a boarding pass from one of hundreds of airport ticket kiosks – all without ever speaking to a reservations or customer service agent.

The job security implication for tens of thousands of airline workers was enormous. According to industry estimates, passengers using the kiosks jumped 50 percent in the past 12 months.

Among airline unions, the IAM has been preparing for years to meet the challenge posed by this new technology. In recent agreements, the IAM negotiated specific language to protect workers from being ruthlessly automated into extinction.

The 2002 IAM accord with Southwest Airlines amended the Customer Service Agents’ job description to specifically include kiosk duties. Agents impacted by new technology at Alaska, Northwest and even bankrupt United Airlines are entitled to layoff protection, retraining and alternate job placement.

Ultimately, the success of any technology will be determined by the service it provides. “No machine will ever take the place of a seasoned customer service or reservations agent in the middle of a crisis on the day before a holiday,” says Roach. “We know it, the airlines know it and the passengers know it too.”



IAM Rail Members Ready to Rumble
Fed up with delaying tactics by rail management and government officials, IAM Class 1 rail workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike that could stop the nation’s freight lines dead in their tracks.

By a 97 percent margin, Machinists who maintain freight lines from Maine to California rejected a management contract calling for health cost increases of 200 percent for some employees.

“It’s time for the government to let collective bargaining laws work the way they were meant to,” said GVP Roach. “The IAM will call for a release from mediation if management fails to present a reasonable contract offer.”