“Spirit Flight Attendants and thousands of other workers have invested their entire careers in the airline and provided a great service to the traveling public through good and bad times.

“Today, thousands of Flight Attendants and other frontline workers have their lives, paychecks, healthcare, homes, and retirement hanging in the balance.

“Other airline executives are saying Spirit won’t survive no matter what the federal government does. But that isn’t true. Spirit’s competitors are just saying this because they want to gobble up Spirit’s parts without any obligation to the frontline employees who need these jobs to survive.

“We strongly support and are hopeful that the government will recognize the need for emergency funds to keep Spirit flying. Any assertion that Spirit should just liquidate is only going to harm workers, passengers, and further strain our economy. It’s unnecessary and mean spirited – when just a little help can stave off massive harm.”

“Let’s remember real people are hoping and praying for a lifeline. And no doubt they deserve it! But they also deserve consideration and kindness. Keep Spirit flying.”

#WashingtonDC #Labor #FlightAttendants #AFACWA

Chicago, IL. – On Thursday, January 15, 300 United flight attendants and supporters participated in an informational picket outside the United Airlines corporate headquarters, the Willis Tower, in downtown Chicago. It was 18 degrees out in the windy city, yet United flight attendants, flight attendants from other airlines and members of local unions still showed up to demand a contract and show solidarity.

United flight attendants have been without a contract for a grueling five years now. Their last contract was ratified in 2016 and the United negotiating committee has been struggling with the company at the table since 2021. This is detrimental to the quality of life and wellbeing of the flight attendants, who work tirelessly hard to keep people safe. Many flight attendants are struggling to keep up with bills, not being paid a living wage while also being forced to work under outdated and unfair work rules.

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby proudly declares United to be “the best airline in the world” while also celebrating the airline’s profits. However, United Airlines flight attendants get paid the least in the industry compared to other mainline carriers and is the last group of flight attendants without a current contract.

Flight attendants held signs that read, “The best airline in the world, leaving us out in the cold” and chanted, “Scott Kirby has got to go!”

Ken Diaz is the master executive council president of United AFA (Association of Flight Attendants) and is a leading member of the negotiating team. He stated, “We are the first responders. We are safety professionals. We go through extensive training and we just want to be recognized.”

Diaz continued, “We are a predominantly female workforce and we are the only union on the property that has not gotten a contract.”

He elaborates on the haunting fact that other airline employees are making more than 30 or 40% more than United flight attendants. “You can't be the world’s leading airline and leave out 30,000 of your employees,” said Diaz

When asked about the progress towards a new tentative agreement, Melinda Beal, the chairperson of the AFA United negotiating team. shared that there are a couple big ticket issues still left on the table such as wages and important, costly work rules. However, she said that they have been making good progress. She called on the corporate executives to come to the table and finish things up now.

Beal expresses the undervalued importance of flight attendants: “They always say, ‘airplanes don't take off without pilots,’ but guess what? Airplanes don't take off without flight attendants either.”

United Airlines flight attendants and supporters will continue to be loud and demand a decent contract until they get one. They cannot wait another five years.

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #AFACWA #FlightAttendants #United #Feature

Nelson stated, “People died this year. All 67 people onboard Flight 5342 – Flight Attendants, pilots, and passengers. Families are still grieving. Flight Attendants and our flying partners across the country are still carrying the trauma of watching colleagues and passengers lost in a collision that never should have happened. And now the U.S. House has passed a provision that would roll back safety protections that could prevent another disaster.

“Who is even asking for this? The NTSB and Chair Homendy are still investigating the tragic collision, and Section 373 of the NDAA is not only reckless and indefensible, but also a direct undermining of the NTSB’s safety guidance.

“Air travel is the safest mode of transportation because we investigate and adapt in the wake of tragedy. The safety protections currently in place following the January 29 crash are crucial, and lawmakers must fix the NDAA immediately. Families have suffered enough. We have the power and responsibility to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again. The Senate must reject this provision now.”

#WashingtonDC #DC #Labor @AFACWA #FlightAttendants

Dallas, TX – On August 18, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) flight attendants and supporters picketed outside of Dallas – Fort Worth Airport to demand an end to work without pay and for pay raises that reflect the work they do. This comes during stalled contract negotiations and the potential to move into mediation in late August.

In Dallas, supporters from Envoy Air, Omni, American Airlines, caterers and others joined in. They were joined by flight attendants picketing across the country in Dayton (DAY), Philadelphia (PHL), Charlotte (CLT) and Arlington (DCA).

Picketers chanted “Honk, honk beep beep, PSA is really cheap” and “What do we want? Contract, When do we want it? Now!” Signs read, “Pay us or chaos” and “No tiers in aviation, same work, same pay.”

“I cannot be fully invested in this job if I can’t pay my bills” said PSA flight attendant Travis Smith. “I’ve been ready to strike.”

Flight attendants in PSA have been in negotiations for two years now. Their demands include boarding pay, which is currently unpaid, yet is often the most challenging part of trips.

PSA is a regional subsidiary of American Airlines. Mainline U.S. carriers, such as American or Delta, have established subsidiary “regional airlines” like PSA to cut costs on lower volume routes. These subsidiary companies operate as separate airlines, despite flying planes with the same paintjobs as their parent companies. Passengers usually don’t know the difference.

Flight attendants on these routes often work longer days filled with shorter flights. They receive far less pay than their mainline counterparts, while performing the same duties and wearing the same uniforms. Aviation unions have criticized this as a two-tier system.

In January of 2025, PSA flight attendants suffered the loss of their coworkers in DCA (Washington National Airport), when a midair collision took the lives of PSA flight attendants Ian Epstein and Danasia Elder. Flight attendants pointed out the insulting disparity between life-threatening work they do compared to the poverty wages they receive.

“We need to stand up for ourselves and show management that we are serious” says PSA flight attendant Jeanne Krejci, “We need to be paid on the ground, we have flight attendants on SNAP, who can’t pay for their bills. We need a living wage.”

Flight attendants are under the Railway Labor Act, meaning that contracts become amendable and are often drawn out. If negotiations stall, they move into mediation for a period of time and if they are unable to reach an agreement, they will enter a cooling off period of 30 days before being released to strike.

Flight attendants at PSA are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA). The AFA is the largest flight attendant union in the U.S. and represents flight attendants at regional carriers for American, Delta, and Alaska Airlines. The AFA is leading the charge in the campaign to end tiers in aviation.

#DallasTX #TX #Labor #AFACWA #PSA #FlightAttendants

The major agreement also sets a new standard for the industry with a boarding pay worth more than other mainline carriers, as well as an increase in pay for trip reassignment, extended reserve shifts, and for flights delayed into a day off.

The new contract includes immediate pay increases with 18.6 to 28.3% day-of-signing increase to the pay scale, 25 months of retro pay, and two additional raises locked in over the life of the contract.

“This contract will immediately and significantly improve the lives of Alaska flight attendants,” said Jeffrey Peterson, AFA president at Alaska Airlines. “Alaska flight attendants’ solidarity pushed management to recognize our critical role to the safety and success of this airline. This contract also raises the foundation for the new joint Alaska-Hawaiian negotiations following the merger.”

The contract was ratified with 95% voting for the agreement of the 91% participating.

“Flight attendants are on the front lines every single day interacting with passengers and ensuring the safety of everyone onboard,” said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, representing over 55,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines. “As all eyes have turned to the essential work of flight attendants, this industry-leading contract not only provides Alaska flight attendants with what they’ve earned, but it reinforces the contract standards for all flight attendants across the industry.”

#SeattleWA #WA #Labor #AFACWA #FlightAttendants #Contract

“Flight attendants at Horizon Air and in the regional airlines deserve fair compensation,” said Horizon AFA President Lisa Davis-Warren. “The company needs to recognize the contributions we have made to its continued growth. We are hopeful that with the help of a federal mediator we will work with urgency to get the pay, benefits, and scheduling provisions we have earned.”

Horizon Air is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alaska Airlines. And while Horizon Flight Attendants work for the regional airline, management at Alaska ultimately controls their pay and working conditions at Horizon – where flight attendants provide the same service as their mainline counterparts while being paid significantly less.

Management has so far failed to offer meaningful pay increases for all flight attendants in the workgroup. Instead of raising the standards for regional flight attendants, management is content to maintain a two-tiered exploitative “regional airline” business model that leaves regional flight attendants behind.

Filing for federal mediation with the National Mediation Board is the next step in negotiations under the Railway Labor Act, and the NMB will oversee negotiations, assign a federal mediator, and schedule mediation sessions.

#MinneapolisMN #MN #Labor #FlightAttendants #AFA #Contract

“It’s time to add pressure and urgency to these negotiations and raise the standards for Mesa flight attendants,” said Shannon Harris, Mesa AFA president. “Flight attendants at Mesa need relief now in order to make ends meet. It’s time to get this done and if United Airlines has ‘extra cash’ for Wall Street with a $1.5 billion stock buyback they certainly have cash to lift us out of poverty wages.”

While Mesa flight attendants work for the regional airline, airline management at United ultimately controls the pay and working conditions at Mesa, which provides a significant amount of United’s route structure. The exploitative “regional airline” business model allows United to reap massive profits, while suppressing wages and benefits for workers at regionals.

Passengers generally don’t know that they are flying with a different airline, one that pays almost half as much in pay and benefits for the workers.

“Passengers board these United-branded flights unaware that the flight attendants working them are paid nearly 45% less for the same work,” said Sara Nelson, AFA international president. “The immoral contract structure that locks in two tiers of employment for the same [job] has got to end. The greed that drives massive payouts for executives and hedge funds cannot leave flight attendants starving. Our union is demanding an end to tiers of employment in aviation.”

The National Mediation Board will oversee this week’s negotiations in New Orleans, as Mesa Air flight attendants continue to press for a contract that reflects their essential contributions as aviation’s first responders to United’s operation.

#WashingtonDC #Labor #AFA #FlightAttendants

Washington, DC – On August 28, flight attendants at United Airlines who are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) voted on whether or not to authorize a strike if needed in contract negotiations with the carrier. The flight attendants filed for federal mediation eight months ago, after working under what they call an amendable contract for the last three years. After not seeing the movement at the table that they needed, the flight attendants decided to take the next step let their members vote over whether to authorize a strike.

The results were loud and clear. A near unanimous majority of 99.99% of ballots cast voted to authorize a strike; over 90% of United flight attendants participated in the vote.

Flight attendants heard the news broadcast in real time at nearly 20 informational picket lines which were being held simultaneously across the country.

Ken Diaz is the president of the United Airlines chapter of AFA and said, “We deserve an industry-leading contract. Our strike vote shows we’re ready to do whatever it takes to reach the contract we deserve,” and went on to say “We are the face of United Airlines and planes don’t take off without us. As Labor Day travel begins, United management is reminded what’s at stake if we don’t get this done.”

In their negotiations, the flight attendants at United are demanding a double-digit base pay increase as well as paid time for time at work on the ground. They are also fighting for retroactive pay to the date the contract became amendable, as well as flexibility in scheduling, work rule improvements, job security and retirement, among other issues.

While the flight attendants have faced stagnant wages in recent years, they say that management has been giving themselves significant raises through the same period in time. About this, Ken Diaz said “The United management team gives themselves massive compensation increases while flight attendants struggle to pay basic bills.”

The last time that flight attendants at United took a strike authorization vote was in 2005. However, this year, flight attendants at American, Alaska, Southwest and other airlines have all voted to authorize strikes. The previous strike votes have shown management that the flight attendants are ready to fight for what they deserve and, as a result, have worked to move the bargaining process forward at each airline. Now with this historic 99.9% strike authorization vote, United flight attendants have sent a clear message to management that they are ready to take this fight to a strike if management doesn’t make significant movement to meet their demands.

Now that members have authorized a strike, at any point AFA could request a release from federal mediation, which would begin a 30-day cooling off period before a strike can take place.

In the past, AFA has used a strike strategy known as CHAOS which stands for “Create Havoc Around Our System.” Using the CHAOS strategy, a strike can be called that would affect the entire airline industry and travel or could affect just a single flight. The union decides when to strike, who to include and where to do it and is not required to give any notice to management or passengers under the Railway Labor Act.

Now that a strike has been authorized by a powerful 99.99% majority, eyes will be tuned to the AFA negotiations closely as a strike at United could severely impact the airlines, flight schedules and business as well as personal travel nationwide in coming months. While what will happen next is yet to be seen, from the near-unanimous strike authorization one thing is very clear: the AFA flight attendants at United are ready to fight and are themselves united.

#WashingtonDC #Labor #FlightAttendants #AFACWA #Strike

The flight attendants union called the most recent round of contract proposals from management insulting and decided that a vote to authorize a strike was called for. Flight attendants are fighting for pay increases to help them keep up with rising costs after many years of stagnant pay, which they say has made it difficult to pay basic bills.

The flight attendants are fighting for double-digit base pay increases, increased pay for time at work, sick leave, work rule improvements, and more. At the same time, they say that management has awarded themselves massive pay increases even as they attempt to lowball their employees and keep their wages stagnant.

In a press release from AFA-CWA, Lee Wilkes, president of the PSA chapter of AFA said, “Life at PSA is unsustainable for flight attendants without significant improvements,” and went on to say, “The cost of living has skyrocketed while our pay remains delayed. We can’t afford to wait any longer. We’re ready to show PSA and American management that we will do whatever it takes to get our contract.”

The strike vote comes after the flight attendants filed for federal mediation in January but have continued to see no progress from management around their demands in the eight months since. Even after filing for mediation management took seven months to return a contract proposal to the flight attendants and, when it came, the proposal included base wage increases which the flight attendants say are insulting and do not keep up with increases seen at major carriers in the industry. They say that these proposals would not allow them to keep up with rising costs of living, let alone move forward.

The strike vote will begin on August 21, when over 1300 flight attendants will be sent ballots to vote on whether to authorize a strike. The vote will end on September 17 with ballots counted soon after. This vote will come soon after flight attendants at some other airlines have taken similar votes which propelled bargaining forward.

Sara Nelson is the international president of AFA-CWA, which represents around 55,00 flight attendants across 20 airlines. Nelson said, “Flight Attendants at PSA and other regional airlines across the industry are fighting to end tiers in aviation.” Nelson also said that “PSA flight attendants wear the same uniforms, fly the same routes, and perform the same service as mainline flight attendants. But airlines leave them behind in compensation and benefits.”

Flight attendants with AFA have used a strategy in the past called CHAOS which stands for “Create Havoc Around Our Systems.” In the event of a strike, the flight attendants could choose to use the CHAOS approach, which allows a strike at one smaller carrier to affect airline traffic across all carriers. The flight attendants do not need to give notice to management or to passengers when they strike as long as they have first met a 30-day cooling off period. After that, CHAOS could be employed to ground a single flight or in ways that would ripple out across entire airports and systems.

With ballots going out in less than a week and being counted in just over a month, this is a developing story and Fight Back! will continue to bring coverage of it in coming weeks and months as the situation develops.

#Labor #FlightAttendants #AFACWA

The Association of Flight Attendants represents around 6900 Alaska employees, and they have been in contract negotiations over their next union contract with the carrier. After 18 months of negotiations, the employer and the union reached a tentative agreement in June, which the union then took to the flight attendants to vote over whether to accept the offer or not. After reaching the tentative agreement, flight attendants and union leaders went on the road to talk with flight attendants about the details of that tentative agreement and what it included and what it did not. From there they scheduled the vote for the flight attendants to decide what to do next.

The contract offer included an average of 32% in pay increases over three years as well as something called boarding pay, in which flight attendants would be paid for their time on flights when passengers are boarding, and flight attendants are working. Right now, that work is unpaid until around the time of takeoff.

Turnout to the vote was over 94% according to the union, with 68% voting to reject the contract offer. In a press release, AFA said that this is democracy in action and that there is more work to do. AFA-CWA says that they plan to begin surveying their members to inform next steps for the union. The rejection of the contract does not automatically trigger a strike, but ultimately, if no deal is reached, a strike is a very real possibility. Throughout the negotiating process Alaska Airlines flight attendants have held pickets at airports around the country.

The flight attendants have also signaled that they could employ a strategy known as CHAOS, which stands for “Create Havoc Around Our System” in which flight attendants on individual flights declare a strike and walk out. Alaska Airlines flight attendants employed the CHAOS strategy 30 years ago in negotiations and as a result won significant gains at the bargaining table.

While the offer that was rejected included some forward progress, the flight attendants say it did not go far enough to meet their needs. Being a flight attendant is a job which includes constant travel, unpredictable schedules and mistreatment from passengers. Some flight attendants have said that their current pay rates have left them in a situation where they are qualified for welfare benefits in order to make ends meet.

What happens next for the flight attendants of Alaska is unknown and it is happening against a backdrop of contract fights across many carriers with AFA-CWA representation. For now, the union members have sent a clear message that management’s offer was not enough.

#AK #Labor #FlightAttendants #AFACWA #contract

Los Angeles, CA – On the late morning of June 13, hundreds of flight attendants from different airlines picketed across terminals at LAX, the Los Angeles airport. Three unions were present and coordinated together Worldwide Day of Action, hitting multiple airports across the country.

AFA-CWA (Association of Flight Attendants), APFA (Association of Professional Flight Attendants), and the TWU (Transport Workers Union) all organized flight attendants as they marched throughout the busy LAX terminals demanding contracts, and an end to corporate greed.

Flight attendants are demanding action as negotiations have reached a standstill between them and different airline companies. Flight attendants are currently in negotiations at Alaska, American and United, which are being stalled by the airline executives. There are also negotiations at smaller airlines – Air Wisconsin, Frontier, Omni and PSA.

Flight attendants have worked beyond the expiration of their current contracts and are demanding better working conditions and pay from companies that are making record profits. Many unions will not work beyond a contract expiration and will go on strike, but, because flight attendants are covered under the Railway Labor Act, they must undergo federal mediation before that can take place. In the meantime, the airlines and Federal Mediation Board have dragged their feet while flight attendants have been waiting. Airline companies know the rules and are taking advantage of the laws in place.

The morning picket started with speeches from different flight attendants in front of the Tom Bradley International terminal at LAX. Busy summer travel and traffic was in full effect Thursday morning. The flight attendants chanted, loudly demanding a “Contract, now!” They then marched to neighboring domestic terminals yelling, “Hey hey! Ho ho! Corporate greed has got to go!” Travelers were shaken by the spirited chanting. Workers at the terminals appeared supportive, though they were on the clock. The flight attendants were joined in solidarity by other unions, including the Writers Guild of America, IBEW local 11 and the Teamsters.

Brendan Moriarity of the TWU Local 579 executive board for LAX and a flight attendant with Jet Blue said, “We organized this picket today to show the solidarity between all flight attendants. We were out here today demanding dignity and respect on the job. We’re demanding better pay, work rules and a better quality of life.” In reference to the extreme hours flight attendants may work where forced overtime is normal, he said, “We work to live, not live to work.” He continued, “We’re here to show support for our brothers and sisters and show the bosses that corporate greed doesn’t fly.”

#LosAngelesCA #CA #Labor #AFA #APFA #TWU #FlightAttendants

The group of flight attendants were made up of members from two unions who are fighting for a good contract, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA, and Association of Flight Attendants (AFA).

Chants led by union members highlighted the rank-and-file members’ anger with how the airline companies have been handling contract negotiations: “What’s appalling? Constant stalling!” as well as “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!”

The Flight Attendants negotiations fall under the Railway Labor Act, under which the flight attendants union contracts do not have set expiration dates. Negotiations are currently happening through a federal mediation process. There were many flight attendants present at the rally that had not had a new union contract since 2016. Flight attendants from United, Alaska, American and Southwest are all negotiating their next contracts and have already held votes to authorize strikes at Southwest, American and Alaska if needed in their fights for a next contract.

The event lasted around two hours and included marching and picketing around various parts of the airport. Some portions of the pickets were visible to cars driving in and out of the airport, where many showed their support by honking their horns. The event was very loud and full of energy.

This action was a first step for flight attendants to show that they are not willing to accept stalled contract negotiations any longer and are willing to bring the fight to the bosses.

#DenverCO #Labor #FlightAttendants #AFA #APFA

Minneapolis, MN – On Tuesday, February 13 around 100 flight attendants picketed in front of the arrivals gates of the Minneapolis/Saint Paul airport in Minnesota.

The crowd’s chants were heard clearly in the whole arrivals area. Chants included “What do we want? Contract! When do we want it? Now!” as well as “If we don’t get it? Shut it down!”

The pickets are happening as flight attendants are in bargaining for their next round of national contracts. The flight attendants who are bargaining include members of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), and the Transportation Workers Union (TWU).

In 2023, a near strike by Teamsters at UPS was expected to have a major impact the U.S. economy. The UPS contract settlement was followed in short order by a round of “Stand Up Strikes” by UAW auto workers around the country. Both of those contract fights won major gains and garnered much attention from economists and labor supporters alike.

In 2024, as flight attendants bargain their national contracts, many of the same eyes are on these important negotiations, as flight attendants play a key role in the U.S. economy and have the ability in some instances to ground planes on the runway.

The international president of AFA is Sara Nelson. In a recent press release she stated, “Flight Attendants are fighting corporate greed, and demanding that our jobs make it possible to live a good life. Working people in every job and every industry can relate, and we feel the people with us.” Nelson went on to say “Our work brings people together from every part of the planet and showcases the strength of our diversity within our solidarity. We’re making history by standing together as one to make the airlines compete to the highest standards for our careers.”

Supporters from other unions – such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, The International Association of Machinists, the Service Employees International Union, and more – were on the picket line. A local labor solidarity grouping called Minnesota Workers United turned out a contingent in solidarity with the pickets and contract fight.

The flight attendants contract fights are a developing story and Fight Back! will continue to provide on-the-ground coverage as this story develops in coming months.

#MinneapolisMN #Labor #FlightAttendants #AFA #APFA #TWU #Teamsters #IAM #MNWorkersUnited

Tampa, FL – On February 13, over 40 flight attendants and their supporters picketed at the Tampa International Airport. This was part of a worldwide day of action held by the Association of Flight Attendants and Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which saw pickets at more than 30 airports across the country.

Over two-thirds of union flight attendants in the U.S. are currently in contract negotiations. In these negotiations the flight attendants are demanding improvements to their contracts with the airlines. Their demands include higher wages and safer working conditions for all workers.

Robert Payne, a board member at large in the Transit Workers Union of America Local 577, said, “You have flight attendants here today with United, with Southwest, with Delta, with Allegiant, with Frontier. Various other flight attendant unions all across the country are coming together and we are all saying the same thing: that we deserve to be treated like the safety professionals that we are, that we deserve a living wage that respects the importance of the work that we do.”

Around 25 flight attendants picketed on airport property at the Blue Express arrivals terminal, before moving to join a larger crowd picketing outside the property of the Tampa International Airport. Passing cars honked to show their support for the flight attendants as they chanted, “What do we want? A contract! When do we want it? Now!”

With an estimated 100,000 flight attendants represented in these negotiations, the worldwide day of action was a first step to show the world that flight attendants are serious about this contract fight.

“Over the last few years especially, I think the public is starting to see the importance of what it is we do and the impact it can have on workers in the airline industry,” said Payne.

#TampaFL #Labor #FlightAttendants #AFA #Contract

Seattle, WA – Usually at Angle Lake Park, the noise of jets taking off from nearby SeaTac International Airport drowns out the sound of everyday activity. But on the morning of August 15, it was chants of “Pay us or chaos” that could be heard over everything else, as hundreds gathered for the Day of Solidarity informational picket in support of Association of Flight Attendants-CWA’s fight for a new contract.

The morning began with a rally, where Alaskan Airlines flight attendants were joined by pilots, fellow union workers, and community activists. Sara Nelson, the AFA-CWA international president, spoke to the crowd about the significance of solidarity, saying, “This is the working class fighting together. Since the beginning of time the corporate elite have tried to divide us with racism, sexism, ageism and any other way that they can to get us to hate each other.”

The group then marched on Alaska Airlines’ corporate headquarters. Picketers lined the streets, holding signs reading “1st in passenger satisfaction, 6th in pay” and “We demand boarding pay without delay.” Passing cars, trucks and shuttle buses honked in support throughout the day.

The AFA-CWA is currently operating under a nine-year contract, one that was extended due to the COVID pandemic. On top of not receiving a meaningful pay increase in that timespan, flight attendants are also not paid for time on the ground, helping passengers with boarding the aircraft, and assisting in deplaning. Melinda Jorge, vice president of AFA-CWA Local 19 in Seattle, said, “Nobody in America should go to work and work an hour for free.” She then explained that during unpaid labor pre-flight, if a flight attendant “gets hurt or calls out within that hour, you get points [against you] or you can be terminated.”

News of these exploitative working conditions helped spur Jonathan Toledo, a member of the South Seattle College Students for a Democratic Society, to join the picket. When asked about why he felt it was important to attend, he stated: “Quite frankly, everyone goes on airplanes. There’s record profits and it just keeps going and going into the pockets of the few. The workers are being robbed left and right. If we don’t stand up now, we’ll never be able to take back what’s ours.”

Toledo is also a member of the Strike Solidarity Committee, a group of local union organizers across multiple industries who mobilize workers in order to build stronger working-class solidarity in the greater Seattle area. Other committee members from Unite Here Local 8, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, Freedom Road Socialist Organization and Tacoma DSA were also in attendance.

After hours of picketing outside the corporate offices of Alaska Airlines, some attendees returned to Angle Lake Park to celebrate the overwhelming turnout. Jorge stated, “We were scheduled to have 800 people, but we probably had 900 to 1000.” Then, reflecting on how this picket will benefit the American labor movement as a whole, she continued, “Even though we’re under the Railway Labor Act, which really constitutes how we can actually picket, we’re out here still fighting. And that’s what every labor group should be doing. Everyone should be organizing. We needed to show other groups that we have solidarity. We’re not out here fighting for just us; we’re fighting for everybody.”

#SeattleWA #FlightAttendants

Jacksonville, FL – As the partial government shutdown entered its 35th day on January 25, federal workers gave the country a lesson in the power of labor. Citing “a slight increase in sick leave” at two of the largest air traffic control centers on the eastern seaboard, the Federal Aviation Authority ordered a 90-minute ground stop for flights going into LaGuardia Airport in New York City.

Within hours, President Donald Trump announced an end to the shutdown, after taking a deal offered three weeks earlier by the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. The deal to reopen the government and provide back-pay to the 800,000 furloughed federal workers did not include funding for Trump’s proposed wall along the southern border or any additional funding for border security.

Why did Trump, the self-styled ‘master of deals’ who staked his presidency on the construction of a border wall, fold like a cheap suit on Day 35? The president had paid a steep cost for this debacle from the beginning when he publicly agreed to “own” the shutdown. Poll numbers consistently showed a solid majority of Americans blaming Trump for the shutdown.

But the credit for ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history belongs to the working class – not political grandstanding by congressional Democrats or even poll numbers.

Government shutdown and the working class

The partial government shutdown began on December 22, 2018. Funding for a number of key agencies expired, and President Trump refused to sign any bill from Congress that did not include nearly $6 billion in funds for a wall along the southern border of the U.S.

The impasse left 800,000 federal workers, the majority of whom are unionized, furloughed and without pay. Over half of these furloughed workers, 420,000, were legally required to continue working without pay because their particular jobs are deemed ‘essential’, like air traffic controllers and airport security. Predictably, as time went on, many of these workers stopped showing up entirely. Absenteeism became rampant in the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) airport security operations, where TSA agents are already some of the lowest-paid federal workers.

Unions representing these furloughed workers, like the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), led protests and pickets in Washington D.C. and across the country. These efforts drew support from the rest of organized labor, particularly in adjacent industries to those affected by the shutdown. Union leaders forcefully argued that the stress on workers created by the shutdown, along with growing absenteeism and short-staffing, created major safety hazards and risks for both employees and the general public.

The Trump administration added fuel to the fire with a series of insulting comments and condescending advice to struggling workers and their families. Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul, ludicrously claimed he could “feel their pain,” while later suggesting hungry furloughed workers should just tell their local grocery stores that they would pay “later” at the checkout counter. Wilber Ross, Trump’s Commerce Secretary, publicly said he “couldn’t understand” why federal employees were complaining instead of “taking out loans” to pay for their necessities.

Further highlighting the class warfare at work during the shutdown, Trump and several of his officials began floating ideas for reducing or eliminating federal employees’ pensions. These anti-worker comments and proposals proved the final nail in the coffin for many workers who may have bought into Trump’s cynical populist campaign message in 2016. It became all too clear that Trump serves the same class and interests that he himself comes from: billionaires, banks and corporations.

Federal workers and the strike weapon

Some liberal journalists and political commentators brought up the idea of a federal employee strike early on, which drew criticism from some labor leaders. Joe Burns, a former negotiator for the Association of Flight Attendants and a prominent labor writer, wrote on the Reviving the Strike Facebook page, “So the New York Times who would never support federal workers’ right to strike, publishes a piece by Barbara Ehrenreich saying federal workers should strike. How about leave it to federal workers to decide and not have them be pawns in the so-called ‘resistance’? I love striking but am sick and tired of folks thinking they can call strikes for other people.”

Burns is right to criticize the out-of-hand suggestion to strike by comfortable liberals without skin in the game. Despite heavy unionization, federal workers have tremendous legal restrictions on their right to organize – restrictions imposed by many of the same politicians these commentators support. They are legally prohibited from striking, and workers who engage in a work stoppage face serious charges and a lifetime ban on federal employment. Federal employee unions cannot bargain over wages and benefits, which are set by Congress, and the Hatch Act severely limits their ability to lobby or engage in any political action.

Leaders of AFGE, including their international president, got arrested protesting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Washington D.C. just a few days before the shutdown ended, but on the whole, the union has resisted calls for more radical action. Part of this comes from the devastating memory of Ronald Reagan busting the air traffic controllers’ strike more than 30 years ago, which signaled a wider employer-led offensive against labor in the 1980s.

But another aspect of AFGE’s reluctance to push back harder comes from internal divisions. Federal unions include law enforcement elements, like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who outspokenly favored Trump in 2016 and actually supported the shutdown, despite also working without pay. Many federal employees, because of their proximity to the military industrial complex, tend to hold deep conservative beliefs, and union leadership has avoided challenging the backwards ideas of some members. As a result, some labor leaders saw a real risk that a large part of their membership would refuse to participate in a work stoppage or organized slow-down.

Labor militancy grows

But as the shutdown dragged into its fourth week with no end in sight, more militant voices in organized labor began proposing more drastic action. On January 20, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), Sara Nelson, issued a call for the labor movement to begin discussing a general strike in response to the government shutdown.

“There is a humanitarian crisis unfolding right now for our 800,000 federal sector sisters and brothers who are either locked out of work or forced to come to work without pay due to the government shutdown,” said Nelson at an award ceremony honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “We can end this shutdown together. Federal sector unions have their hands full caring for the 800,000 federal workers who are at the tip of the spear. Some would say the answer is for them to walk off the job. I say, ‘What are you willing to do? Their destiny is tied up with our destiny – and they don’t even have time to ask us for help.’”

Nelson ended her blistering remarks with a call for renewed militancy and solidarity. “What is the labor movement waiting for?” she asked. “Go back with the fierce urgency of now to talk with your locals and international unions about all workers joining together – to end this shutdown with a general strike.”

By January 25, the international president of the Communication Workers of America (CWA), Chris Shelton, pledged something similar. “CWA is ready to pursue every option available,” said Shelton in a press release, “up to and including participating in general strikes involving all working people if necessary: union members and non-union workers exercising their power to help end this damaging and dangerous shutdown.”

Withholding labor stops the shutdown

This growing militancy among many labor leaders set the stage for Trump’s retreat and the end of the shutdown. On January 25, federal workers officially missed their second paycheck since the shutdown began. That day, a critical number of air traffic controllers in Washington D.C. and Jacksonville, Florida called out sick, forcing the FAA to ground flights for 90 minutes. While an unknown number of controllers stayed home in Jacksonville, six of the 13 in the Washington D.C. facility, which handles one-fifth of U.S. commercial flight traffic, called in sick and could not be replaced.

While the air traffic controllers’ union leaders denied organizing a ‘sick-out’, the results proved the staggering power of workers withholding their labor. LaGuardia saw 47 cancelled flights and 580 delays, while Newark saw 40 cancellations and 300 delays. Kennedy Airport also saw 230 delays, and the combined effect was backlogged flights and chaos at airports across the country. It was the airline executives’ worst nightmare come true, which they expressed several times on conference calls with shareholders during the shutdown.

Hours later, the Trump administration bowed to pressure from congressional Republicans and business executives and agreed to end the shutdown. No $6 billion in funding for a wall. No increase in border security. Nothing. It marked the latest humiliating loss for the president, who had previously said he wouldn’t reopen the government without funding for a wall, and it was dealt out by workers.

Summing up the shutdown

Even as liberals tried to credit House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with ending the shutdown – or more ludicrously, the arrest of Trump associate Roger Stone earlier that morning – most media outlets couldn’t deny the decisive role played by labor. But what role was that?

The AFL-CIO put out a statement crediting workers for ending the shutdown, but it made no mention of the critical role of air traffic controllers withholding their labor. Instead, they credited “marching, rallying and protesting together.” That all happened, true, but it made no discernable impact on Trump’s calculus for 35 days. It’s an out-of-touch statement by more conservative labor leaders, like AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, who have generally rejected the strike as a viable weapon for decades, putting their faith in lobbying teams and elections instead.

No one knows precisely the level of organization among those air traffic controllers who didn’t come to work on January 25. It could have occurred, as union leaders claimed, as an inevitable “symptom” of going weeks without pay. But the most important lesson for labor doesn’t require any intent on the part of the absent air traffic controllers: The working class has the power to shut down the country by withholding its labor.

The deal to reopen the federal government restores funding for three weeks, expiring again on February 15. Trump claims that without a $6 billion deal on his border wall, he will shut down the government again. Many federal workers expect this to happen again, and that could mean organized labor faces the same dilemma of the past 35 days.

It will take militant leadership, stronger organization and a recognition of the power held by the working class to beat back Trump’s attacks on labor. The strike is back on the table for hundreds of thousands of workers. Public school teachers in West Virginia, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Arizona and Los Angeles have struck in the last year, with many breaking the law to do it and winning their demands. Charter school teachers in Chicago made history by striking and winning a great contract late last year. Hotel workers have struck to improve industrywide conditions and win recognition.

The shutdown shows us that it’s time for labor’s leaders to embrace the strike and fight back. And if they won’t, it’s time for them to get out of the way of the rank-and-file leaders who will.

Dave Schneider is a union steward for the Teamsters and a rank-and-file UPS worker in Jacksonville, Florida.

#JacksonvilleFL #US #PeoplesStruggles #AirlineIndustry #AFLCIO #FlightAttendants #PublicSectorUnions #governmentShutdown #Strikes #DonaldTrump #AFGE

The list of airline managements seeking or already pocketing concessions is staggering. At first it was airlines on the financial brink such as Delta, United and US Airways that sought take-backs. Then, predictably, management at other carriers began smelling blood and seeking concessions, such as Alaska Airlines management, which is threatening to outsource mechanics jobs and slash thousands from the flight attendant and pilot union contracts. Or Hawaiian Airlines, which, despite earning profits, remains in bankruptcy and is demanding concessions from union workers.

The cuts are devastating. Flight Attendants at US Airways were once among the highest paid in the industry, with solid work rules and vacation practices won through decades of union struggles. Now, after two rounds of concessions, they are at best in the middle of the industry. The number of vacation days were cut almost in half, work rules slashed, pensions taken away, and wages went far below carriers such as Southwest. Under the recently approved US Airways mechanics agreement, almost half the jobs will be contracted out and people remaining will work harder for far less money.

Where does the power of the employer come from? To be sure, the bankruptcy courts have consistently sided with management, gutting contracts and stealing pensions. And the federal government, with the business-dominated National Mediation Board, is hostile to labor. Yet despite these obstacles, given the shaky finances of some of these carriers, even the threat of the strike gives the union the enormous power to force a company out of business.

The Association of Flight Attendants put out a call for a nationwide strike in the event a bankruptcy court voided the union contracts. This call, while militant and followed up by strike votes at several carriers, did not result in any strikes. Why? Because few workers are willing to risk putting an airline in bankruptcy out of business.

The real power of management lies in the fact that workers are competing against themselves – in a race to the bottom that guarantees working people will not win. Here, the lesson is what we have learned before, when the United Food and Commercial Workers led the race to the bottom in meatpacking in the 1980’s and when the United Auto Workers was decimated as locals competed for jobs.

That is why the Association of Flight Attendant’s call for a strike of all airline workers was so refreshing and met which such enthusiasm among frontline fighters throughout the airline industry. The rules of the game are set up for failure. What is called for is industry wide solutions, forcing industry wide standards, and newer and more militant tactics. Just like many times in the past, anti-union courts and politicians may claim these tactics are illegal. But just as in the old mineworker slogan went, “You can’t mine coal with bayonets,” you can’t run the airline industry without airline workers.

It is good that the AFL-CIO’s top officials are finally talking about the urgency of organizing, about streamlining the AFL-CIO, and making the unions more relevant. Ignored for years, these are key elements to restoring labor’s power. But as the example of the highly unionized airline industry shows, density is not enough. At the end of the day, the key question is how can workers win battles that will improve the lives of working people.

#UnitedStates #Analysis #AirlineIndustry #FlightAttendants #concessions

Rank and file activists within the union have mobilized the membership to vote down concessionary contracts. Northwest and sell-outs in the top Teamster leadership want this to stop. Rank and file activists believe their efforts are the target of Northwest's lawsuit. Bureaucrats, loyal to Teamster International President Hoffa, have been inactive in face of the computer seizures.

At Northwest Airlines, management has tried everything under the sun in order to ram a bad contract down the throats of flight attendants. The company and the union have been negotiating on-and-off for a contract since 1996. Last summer, in a matter of hours after receiving the proposal from the negotiating committee, workers looked at it and decided the contract proposal was a give-away.

With contract negotiations under way again, the computer seizure might not have the intended affect. Many workers are furious at NWA's attack on their rights

Northwest has fired a number of workers in this run up to negotiations, placing rank and file activists in a tough spot. Billie Davenport, Local 2000 President, has said that the jobs of the activists will be regained through the contract negotiations. This puts a damper on the level of resistance rank and file activists can take up if the contract is bad.

Northwest workers have made it clear that they will settle for nothing short of a decent contract. If the negotiating team offers up another concessionary contract, be sure that the rank and file will mobilize to defeat it.

#MinneapolisMN #News #AirlineIndustry #NorthwestAirlines #FlightAttendants #TeamstersLocal2000

The Northwest Airlines flight attendants have been attempting to negotiate a new contract for over three years.

Under past president Ron Carey, the International Union provided the flight attendants with resources and personnel to help generate effective rank and file activity.

For the first time, energized and involved members participated in a contract campaign. Contract Action Teams, or CATs, brought hundreds of rank and file members throughout Northwest's far-flung bases together for public actions. These rallies built support for their struggle in the labor movement and among the public.

When Jim Hoffa, Jr., took office this January, one of the first things he did was to fire the CAT coordinators from the International, and hire his lawyer pals to bring 'expertise' to contract negotiations. Reports are that on September 17, the Local 2000 executive board voted 3-4 to get rid of the CAT's.

Hoffa Jr., spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on videos and slick propaganda trying to force the settlement on workers. He failed.

Local 2000

The leadership of flight attendants, Local 2000, was elected two years ago, in the midst of a member upsurge against old guard leaders. But since Hoffa Jr., gained control of the International and undercut the negotiations, some of the local executive board officers have drifted away from the members.

Hoffa Jr., had wanted the ballots counted at the Teamster headquarters in Washington, D.C. Reformers remaining on the e-board forced this contract ballot to be counted with membership oversight at local union bases.

The rank and file opposed this contract, based on betrayal by NWA management. Workers made painful sacrifices to keep the company afloat after a leveraged buyout in the late 80s by financiers Al Checci and Gary Wilson. As the airline returned to a profitable status, corporate thieves took tens of millions of dollars in bonuses and stock options, and refused to give workers a decent raise.

Proposed pensions under the rejected contract would have risen, but too little, and work rules, like the one that pays attendants only for flight hours, not for boarding and delayed flights, would have remained in place.

Last summer's successful pilots' strike, which brought airline management to their knees, resulted in a fair contract for the pilots. Now, other employee groups need to fight for their contracts.

Following rejection of the proposed flight attendant settlement, rank and file activists are gearing up to pressure management, the International Union, and their own local leadership for a fair contract. Major selective disruptions of NWA flight operations are a real possibility in the near future.

#MinneapolisMN #News #AirlineIndustry #NorthwestAirlines #FlightAttendants #TeamstersLocal2000

Solidarity with Immigrant Workers

One resolution called for AFSCME Council 5 to actively support the immigrant rights movement. While this resolution passed, it was the only one out of the 21 resolutions presented at the convention that aroused any debate and that some delegates voted against. The 20 other resolutions were all approved unanimously. About three quarters of the delegates voted in favor of the immigrant rights resolution, the Council 5 Executive Board supported it and one of the Chair Officers spoke strongly in favor of it.

But a quarter of the delegates voted against the immigrant rights resolution. This shows why it is so important to bring forward such resolutions, to bring the debate about immigrant rights out into the open in the labor movement. It is important to have the discussion openly, to try to convince those that disagree that this is about solidarity, and that immigrant workers’ fight for legalization and full equality is the fight of all workers.

The immigrant rights resolution that was passed at the Council 5 convention is one of the more progressive immigrant rights positions taken by a union in the U.S. Some unions have played a fairly bad role at the national level, such as SEIU, by supporting the ‘compromise’ Kennedy-McCain bill. This bill would create a massive second-class guest worker program, a three-tier program that would call for the immediate deportation of the millions of immigrant workers who have been here less than two years, impose a highly restrictive process that would exclude the majority of immigrant workers and a system where it would take more than ten years for the few who do qualify to get any sort of legal status.

The resolution passed at the AFSCME Council 5 convention is better than this. The resolution was modeled on the resolution passed at the AFSCME International Convention in August, but is more concise. It clearly comes out in favor of legalization, against expanded guest worker programs, and against ‘enforcement-only’ and ‘enforcement-first’ policies. It also states clearly that AFSCME is against NAFTA-style free trade agreements. The resolution calls on Council 5 and on locals within the Council to actively support and participate in the immigrant rights movement. It also commits AFSCME Council 5 to work against anti-immigrant legislation at the state level. The passage of this resolution was made possible by the generally progressive resolution that was passed at the AFSCME International Convention. It is significant that AFSCME Minnesota has taken a position against expanding guest worker programs as well as against enforcement-first or enforcement-only policies. This resolution puts AFSCME against all the main existing legislative proposals, from the Sensenbrenner bill to the ‘compromise’ proposals that Bush supports, which include vastly expanded guest worker programs and vast new walls and more troops on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Solidarity with Flight Attendants at Northwest Airlines

The other important resolution that was passed was a resolution in support of the flight attendants at Northwest Airlines, who are in the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union. They are in a sharp battle with Northwest Airlines, who is trying to block the flight attendants’ right to strike – saying that since Northwest is in bankruptcy the workers should not be allowed to strike. Northwest has imposed a contract on the flight attendants with 40% wage cuts and other concessions. The flight attendants have voted to reject the proposed contract twice.

This resolution called on AFSCME Council 5 to support the flight attendants in their struggle, to mobilize for their rallies, as well as to take up a collection at the convention for the flight attendants’ strike fund. Over $2100 was collected from delegates on the floor of the convention and then the convention voted to have the Council 5 Executive Board match that amount, doubling the contribution to over $4200.

Camilla Wolkerstorfer, Interim President of Council 95 of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, was a guest at the convention and spoke about their struggle with Northwest Airlines. She received standing ovations, and she was brought to tears when they announced the amount of money collected at the convention.

Both of these resolutions represented a broad-minded spirit of solidarity with all workers who are struggling for their rights. This kind of solidarity – with mostly unorganized immigrant workers and with flight attendants taking on a vicious anti-union corporation here in Minnesota – is key to revitalizing the labor movement.

#BloomingtonMN #ImmigrantRights #News #AirlineIndustry #FlightAttendants #immigrantWorkers #AFSCMECouncil5