The employees who operate and maintain the Plane Train that shepherds thousands of passengers daily through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have ratified their first union contract — including an immediate 18% raise.
The collective bargaining agreement is a “strong first contract,” the Transportation Communications Union/International Association of Machinists said in a statement Friday. The group of Plane Train workers voted to join the union last August, the first new campaign the union had won in Atlanta in recent memory.
The Plane Train, which operates 24 hours a day, is fundamental to efficient operations at the world’s busiest airport and exists under a specific structure.
While it is managed by the Atlanta airport, the workers are employed by Alstom, a French rail manufacturer that operates, maintains and build its cars.
Alstom and a group of 90 workers reached a five-year agreement that includes an immediate 18% wage increase, annual 3% increases, a $2,600 ratification bonus, five paid sick days, five paid holidays and more, according to TCU/IAM.
The contract is uncommon for Georgia. Only 6% of workers in the state are represented by a union compared with 11% nationwide, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Organizing in the South has historically presented unique challenges,” TCU/IAM National President Matt Hollis wrote in an email to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“What made this bargaining especially successful was the solidarity the members maintained from start to finish,” Hollis said. “That unity kept the bargaining committee strong and maintained momentum throughout negotiations and ultimately resulted in an agreement that was overwhelmingly ratified by the membership.”
Alstom is a longtime presence at the airport, having acquired Bombardier Transportation, which for decades operated the automated people mover system that began operations in 1980.
This spring, the company got a five-year, $160 million contract extension with the Atlanta airport. In early June, ahead of the FIFA World Cup, the company put four new Plane Trains into service as part of a broader modernization of the system.
“We are pleased to have reached a contract agreement with the union representing our Plane Train employees,” an Alstom spokesperson said in a statement to the AJC.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
“Alstom values long-standing relationships with our union partners. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the busiest airport in the world, and we are proud our team there successfully transports 95 million passengers a year to and from their flights,” the statement continued.
The airport did not respond to a request for comment.
Hollis said the successful union campaign of the Plane Train’s technicians inspired the six people on the Plane Train special projects team to also organize in February. Negotiations are ongoing for that group.
“We certainly hope the success of these campaigns encourages other workers to see what’s possible when employees stand together,” Hollis said.
The most high-profile unionization effort at the Atlanta airport is a decades-long campaign by some Delta Air Lines flight attendants to organize. Some groups of employees at Delta are unionized, like the pilots and dispatchers, but it is the only major U.S. airline without unionized flight attendants.
— Staff writer Emma Hurt contributed to this report.
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