Jury Rules for Skycaps in Tip Dispute

[Hatu]

Jury Rules in Favor of Skycaps in Dispute Over Tips


BOSTON (AP) -- A federal jury has awarded $325,000 to nine American Airlines skycaps who claimed they lost tips when the airline instituted a $2-per-bag fee for curbside check-in service at Logan International Airport in Boston.
The jury returned its decision Monday in federal court.

American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp., said its decision to impose the baggage fee in 2005 was an attempt to cut costs after it lost $821 million the year before. The fee is split between the airline and the contractor it hires to operate its curbside check-in service.

Skycaps complained in the lawsuit that many passengers saw the fee as a forced tip and therefore didn't tip them for handling their bags.

The attorney who represented the skycaps says she will now ask a judge to approve a class-action lawsuit that would cover hundreds of other American Airlines skycaps.


http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080407/skycaps_tips.html?.v=1

 

[Bob Owens]

Finally one for the working man!

 

[Boomer]

Wow,

A Federal Jury in Boston awarded $36,111.11 for each of nine skycaps injured by a decision of AMR that materially resulted in damages awarded since 2005.

M&E Employees were harmed approximately $15,120.00 per year since 2003, by a decision the TWU affirmed, through a refusal to revote.

A Class Action Lawsuit along the lines contemplated in the original story would create a class of some 16,000 Plaintiffs.

If Awarded along the same lines as SkyCaps, 36,111.11 per year, that would result in a judgement of:
$577,776,000.00.

 

[eolesen]

Hope these guys have been declaring their tip revenue accurately on their tax returns......