The Atlanta airport Plane Train’s employees have voted to unionize
The nearly 100 employees who operate and maintain Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s Plane Train have voted to unionize.
The workers themselves “drove this whole campaign. They ran it. … They managed that process and they did it very well,” said Matt Hollis, national vice president with Transportation Communications Union/International Association of Machinists and lead negotiator for the group’s upcoming contract negotiations.
While the Plane Train is managed by the Atlanta airport, the workers are employed by Alstom, the French rail manufacturer that operates it and builds its cars.
The vote was 56 to 24, organizers told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“We congratulate our employees at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on their decision to join IAM/TCU,” Alstom spokesperson Stacey Levine told the AJC in a statement.
“Alstom values our long-standing relationships with our union partners,” Levine said.
The airport did not respond to a request for comment.
This marks the first new campaign the union has had in Atlanta in recent memory, Hollis said. It was also the first joint organizing campaign of the IAM and TCU.
“Organizing in the South isn’t always the easiest thing to do,” Hollis said of the generally union-averse region.
Sal Rodriguez, executive director of organizing for TCU/IAM, confirmed that the union received a query from Plane Train employees in February who had already done “their homework” on the process and what they wanted from union representation.
“They are a group of pretty savvy employees,” he said. “They really want a voice. Bottom line, that’s what they want.”
A group of Alstom’s Plane Train employees said in a statement that their group is interested in better pay and benefits.
They are also interested in “a level playing field that ensures favoritism is not the main route to advancement” and protections against unjust job loss.
“We have seen the success that other Alstom locations have gained within the union, and we know that TCU/IAM is especially equipped to bring us the same results,” the employees’ statement said. The IAM already represents several groups of Alstom employees at other locations.
Plus, it’s beneficial in a 24/7 operation “to have a union that tries to be responsive at any given hour,” they wrote.
In general, for workers at a 24/7 operation, Hollis argued, a union offers “the only assurance that workers have that they’re going to be treated fairly,” especially when communication can be difficult across “oddball shifts.”
The Plane Train is fundamental to efficient operations at the world’s busiest airport and is in the midst of a major multipronged expansion and upgrade.
Those include a 600-foot extension of its tunnel, planned fleet growth from 59 to 73 new cars, and the replacement of its 40-year-old switch system. Leaders promise the changes will improve the train’s capacity and speeds.
The first new cars are already being tested on site, and the switch replacement is underway.
When it opened in 1980, the Plane Train carried about 35 million passengers, the AJC previously reported. Last year, Hartsfield-Jackson saw 108 million passengers and has plans to reach 125 million in the next five years.
“There is a lot going on in the background involving the train service,” the employees’ statement read.
“Keeping the trains moving is a constant task. Our workforce is very dedicated and always does whatever necessary to deliver the task at hand. We are committed and devoted and we want to see a union contract that recognizes and reflects the value we provide.”
About the Author
As a business reporter, Emma Hurt leads coverage of the Atlanta airport, Delta Air Lines, UPS, Norfolk Southern and other travel and logistics companies. Prior to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she worked as an editor and Atlanta reporter for Axios, a politics reporter for WABE News and a business reporter for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
