Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA)

Twenty-three years ago, we made a promise to Never Forget the events of September 11, 2001 and never allow them to be repeated. No matter the uniform we wear, the routes we fly, or the years we have worn our wings we will always remember the events of September 11th and lift up our heroes.

Our ninth annual AFA Honor Guard will attend services at our nation’s three national memorials to ensure the public remembers the sacrifice of Flight Attendants. This Honor Guard is comprised of Flight Attendants who have done work to advance our priorities.

https://www.afacwa.org/2024_afa_september_11_honor_guard

Flight Attendants save lives.

We are aviation’s first responders and the last line of defense in aviation security. We are the first impression and the smile of aviation connecting the people of our nations.

Happy National Aviation Day to Aviation’s First Responders!

Today, we remember the six crew members, 147 passengers and two people killed on the ground after Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashed shortly after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport on August 16, 1987. The crew included Flight Attendants Michael L. Kahle, Roberta E. Rademacher, Bruce R. Elfering, Pamela D. Sparks-Shaffer, First Officer David J. Dodds, and Capt. John R. Maus. At the time, it was the second-deadliest aviation accident in the United States.

SkyWest Airlines, the largest regional airline in North America, is facing legal action over an alleged “fake” company union that the airline operates and the allegedly retaliatory firings of flight attendants who were engaged in union organizing efforts.

“I feel like they really just thought I was going to be somebody that’s going to be a yes man,” concluded Romero. “There is utterly no separation between management and the labor union, from the pay to the voter operating system. Flight attendants deserve to be able to have the opportunity to choose its representative labor organization.”

“The DOL’s lawsuit again makes clear the SkyWest Inflight Association is an illegal company union operating at the behest of management and not for Flight Attendants it claims to represent,” said AFA-CWA in a statement.

SkyWest Airlines facing federal lawsuit over alleged ‘fake company union’ Largest regional airline in North America also sued by flight attendant union for alleged retaliatory firings

AFA Flight Attendants from Spirit, Endeavor, United, Piedmont, Norse, Alaska, Hawaiian, Frontier, Mesa, are in Houston this week for the 2024 Communications Workers of America Human Rights Conference. Flight Attendants are focusing our efforts to fight against racism, sexism, religious intolerance, nationalism, and other biases that have kept working people from using the full power of our solidarity.

ICYMI: Flight Attendants at PSA Airlines, which is wholly-owned by American Airlines, announced Friday that they will take a Strike Authorization Vote after management’s insulting proposals in contract negotiations.

“Flight Attendants at PSA and other regional airlines across the industry are fighting to end tiers in aviation,” said Sara Nelson, international president of AFA-CWA representing 55,000 Flight Attendants at 20 airlines. “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.”

Another set of American Airlines flight attendants are weighing a strike Workers at the company's American Eagle subsidiary want more momentum in labor negotiations

UPDATE, 4:07pm Aug 9.

Our hearts go out to the families of the VoePass Flight 2283 crew and passengers. We are heartbroken to report there are no survivors of the crash carrying 62 people, according to Brazilian authorities. The cause of the crash is not yet known.

AFA EAP is always available at 800-424-2406.

We are following reports of a crash of a VoePass ATR 72 near São Paulo, Brazil. We are currently processing granular data from this flight. https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/ps-vpb

BREAKING: AFA PSA Flight Attendants will take a strike authorization vote after management’s insulting proposals in contract negotiations. The American Airlines Group management team rewards themselves with massive compensation increases while Flight Attendants at PSA struggle to pay basic bills.

“Life at PSA is unsustainable for Flight Attendants without significant improvements,” said Lee Wilkes, president of the PSA chapter of AFA-CWA representing over 1,300 PSA Airlines Flight Attendants. “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.”

https://www.afacwa.org/americaneagle_psa_vote_strike_afa

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum will mark National Aviation Week (August 19-25, 2024) by providing free Museum access to crewmembers both active and retired. Throughout the week, the Museum will feature flight crew-themed auditorium programming to highlight this chapter in aviation history and share these stories with Museum visitors.

Active and retired crewmembers are invited to visit the Museum for free during regular operating hours from August 19–25. You may reserve your ticket using this exclusive link: https://visit.911memorial.org/webstore/shop/viewitems.aspx?cg=aviation01&c=aviation02

You will be able to print your ticket from home. On the day of your visit you will be asked to show your flight crew credentials to receive your free tickets. The Memorial is open daily from 8am-8pm and the Museum is open Wednesday-Monday from 9am-7pm. Last entry to the Museum is at 5:30pm.

Paw-lidarity furever! Happy International Cat Day to our furry friends.

Today, we celebrate the 59th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.

The Voting Rights Act was a landmark piece of legislation that prohibited racial discrimination in voting. Its passage pushed us closer to realizing our country’s founding principles of liberty and justice for all.

The anniversary of the Voting Rights Act is a reminder to use your voice and use your vote. With Election Day coming up, here are three quick things you can do to get ready. With our schedules, Flight Attendants should make a plan to vote early or by mail since many won’t be home to cast our ballots in-person on Election Day.

Yesterday, the AFA Board of Directors—the directly elected leaders of 55,000 Flight Attendants at 20 airlines— voted to endorse the election of Vice President Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States.

Our union will redouble efforts to encourage first and foremost participation in our democracy by all Flight Attendants with voter registration drives, information on early and absentee balloting, and information that led to this endorsement as Flight Attendants make their own decision in how to cast their vote on or before November 5, 2024.

The NTSB is holding a two day investigative hearing on in-flight blowout of a mid-exit door plug on a Boeing 737-9 MAX, operated as Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. AFA Safety, Health, and Security Representatives are participating.

You can watch the hearing here:

www.windrosemedia.com

Endeavor AFA Flight Attendants continue to picket the Delta Disparity Difference - with today's picket at DTW. Endeavor Flight Attendants work on the same branded planes, fly the same routes, and provide the same service. It’s time Delta management recognize them the same way. It's time to end tiers in aviation.

“Gaming the system to get a competitive leg up by putting all of us at risk can’t fly! We applaud Congressman Nick Langworthy and Congressman Marc Veasey for taking action to stop outrageous attempts to skirt safety and security requirements that were put in place following September 11th. Never again,” stated Sara Nelson, President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, representing 55,000 Flight Attendants at 20 airlines. “The irony should be lost on no one that the new business model is grounded in the idea that if you have money the rules don’t apply to you. This is about crew and passenger safety and the security of the entire country.”

Congressman Nick Langworthy Introduces Bipartisan Safer Skies Act to Close Loopholes in Airport Security WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Nick Langworthy introduced the bipartisan Safer Skies Act, aimed at closing critical security loopholes in airport security.

Solidarity Summer is in full swing! The United AFA strike vote opened Thursday, with thousands of votes cast in the first 24 hours. United Flight Attendants are fired up and ready to do whatever it takes to reach a world class contract.

United Flight Attendants are even more motivated to vote YES after receiving an offensive, accusatory scheduling change that blatantly violates their contract.

“United Flight Attendants can’t afford to wait for improvements. We deserve an industry-leading contract, and we are ready to show United management that we will do whatever it takes,” said United AFA President Ken Diaz. “There is no time to waste. Our negotiations are at a critical state, the issues are clear, and the time to act is now.”

Endeavor AFA Flight Attendants hit the picket line in MSP this week to protest tiers in aviation which leave Flight Attendants at regional airlines behind:

As to why she was picketing Wednesday, Berg said: “We’re just highlighting that we do the same job, have the same crazy hours, and leave our families and our homes the same amount of times as [mainline] flight attendants do, but for a fraction of the pay.”

Delta meltdown bolsters union efforts for higher pay among Endeavor Air flight attendants - MinnPost A software glitch that delayed and canceled flights also stranded the Delta subsidiary’s flight attendants, who were already unhappy with their pay and benefits.

Voting is officially open! Visit contract2021.org for more information on how to cast your vote! If you have any questions contact the helpline 1-844-232-2228 EXT 2

Today, Endeavor AFA Flight Attendants picketed the Delta Disparity Difference at MSP. Endeavor Flight Attendants work on the same branded planes, fly the same routes, and provide the same service. It’s time Delta management recognize them the same way.

The next event is Monday, August 5th at DTW. Make sure to get your RSVP in! https://actionnetwork.org/events/dtw-stop-short-changing-endeavor-flight-attendants

BREAKING: announce a strike authorization vote as Frontier management refuses to negotiate over the impact of the carrier’s business model change.

Frontier Flight Attendants can’t afford to wait to address the impact of management’s decisions on their lives.

BREAKING: AFA Frontier announce a strike authorization vote as Frontier management refuses to negotiate over the impact of the carrier’s business model change.

Frontier Flight Attendants can’t afford to wait to address the impact of management's decisions on their lives.

“Frontier management’s 'out and back' business model has resulted in a massive hit to our compensation and time away from our homes,” said Jennifer Sala, AFA Frontier President. “Frontier Flight Attendants are experiencing harm right now. There’s no time to wait to address the impact of management’s decisions on our lives.” https://www.afacwa.org/frontier_impact_strikevote24

MSP Join our Endeavor AFA siblings on the picket line this Wednesday, July 31st at MSP. Together we’ll show management the flying public that Endeavor deserves better.

Endeavor Flight Attendants are sounding the alarm on the Delta Disparity Difference. As Flight Attendants at Delta’s wholly-owned regional subsidiary, Endeavor Flight Attendants fly the same routes and provide the same services as their mainline flying partners — but are paid on average 45% less. Many of our siblings are struggling to make ends meet while flying for the most profitable airline in the United States. Stand up. Fight back.

You can also join them on Monday, August 5 at DTW.

MSP Stop Short-Changing Endeavor Flight Attendants Since the beginning of the year, we’ve had a lot of success in shining a light on the Delta Disparity Difference we face as regional Flight Attendants. Delta management’s new-found willingness to negotiate with us is a result of the pressure we’ve put on them with our picket and open letter. P...

UPDATE: Gate Gourmet workers avert major nationwide strike. Standing ready to rev up the engine again should those final details go off track. Power to the workers!

The National Mediation Board released Gate Gourmet workers into the 30 day cooling off period at the end of June. With no tentative agreement in sight, 8,000 Gate Gourmet workers may go on strike as early as Tuesday, July 30 at 12:01 am.

Airline caterers have been in negotiations and mediation for six years with little progress on wages and health benefits. Only about 25% of workers have health insurance coverage, with just 2% with family coverage because the plans are so expensive and the wages are so low. It’s time for airlines to stop short-changing these workers—a vital part of our aviation system—and help settle their contracts.

With the Biden-Harris administration the strike threat is real under the RLA! Airline caterers are the first airline workers to be released since Spirit Airlines pilots in 2010. We support airline caterers and their fight is our fight! It matters for all of our negotiations.

Solidarity with Unite Here, Teamsters, RWDSU, and BCTGM. Thank you United AFA Council 8 & 11 for rallying yesterday in ORD and SFO.

Boarding a sweltering airplane cabin on a hot summer day has never been anyone’s favorite part of a flight, but as aviation traffic picks up — generating congestion that keeps planes on the ground for longer — and global heat records keep being broken, overheated airplane cabins could soon become a problem.

There is currently no regulatory standard for cabin temperature during boarding, but the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) — an American group and the largest flight attendant union in the world — has since 2018 called for one in the US, where every airline deals with the issue in its own way.

Too hot to board: What’s the limit for sweltering airplane cabins? | CNN With a steady stream of global heat records, cabins may become too hot to board. That has some flight attendants calling for federal rules.

🚨 ✍️ UNITED FLIGHT ATTENDANTS TAKE ACTION: afacwa.org/unitedsick

Flight Attendants keep United Airlines flying every day. We deserve respect and a Contract that reflects our worth. The offensive, accusatory, and deflection scheduling alert email sent on Saturday in the midst of the CrowdStrike meltdown, and the follow-on communication posted July 23, is emblematic of the labor relations in place under current United management. We see this at the negotiating table and that’s why we’re taking a strike vote.

We can stop them in their tracks by taking action together. We filed a grievance over this violation, but we can do more to hold them accountable right now for their actions. Our power is our solidarity and our commitment to Stand Up Together against their pompous, offensive, rhetoric and actions.

Respect Me and My Contract Flight Attendants keep United Airlines flying every day. We deserve respect and a contract that reflects our worth. The offensive, accusatory, and deflection scheduling alert email sent on Saturday in the midst of the CrowdStrike meltdown, and the follow-on communication posted this week, is emblema...

The general election is just a few months away! There’s no better way to prepare than by checking your voter registration status and making sure you are registered to vote. By checking your voter registration status, you’ll have one less thing to worry about as Election Day nears.

Use our voting registration tool to check your status:

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

Management Blatantly Attempts to Violate our Contract with New Absence Certificate Requirement

With less than twenty-four (24) hours’ notice, in a Scheduling Alert released today, management stated that, “Effective July 21 and until further notice, all flight attendants who call in sick for trips departing/reserve days on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays are required to submit an absence certificate.”

Not only is this a willful Contract violation, it is yet another demonstration of management’s lack of respect for Flight Attendants and our contract. Section 13.C.4. of our Contract identifies the periods when the company can require an Absence Certificate of all Flight Attendants. Those periods consist of the Fourth of July and Christmas holiday periods, it says nothing about every Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Flight Attendants on the line the last few days have endured the effects of another irregular operation. We have once again risen to the challenge and made it all work while dealing with one the largest IT outages in history. We ensured the safety and comfort of our passengers, including those who had their travel plans disrupted by these incredibly challenging circumstances. At the same time, we have dealt with incredibly long hold times to get through to scheduling for pairing updates and hotel information for those stranded.

Management couldn’t be bothered to wait until this unprecedented crisis was resolved to blatantly violate our Contract; they had to do it right now, in the midst of the chaos. This is a clear indication of just how tone-deaf management is. Upon informing the Union just this afternoon about the new requirement and the forthcoming announcement, MEC President Ken Diaz told them in no uncertain terms it is a violation of our Contract that would be grieved, yet they moved ahead anyway. This is also a reflection of the ongoing state of deteriorating labor relations within the company.

Management also added a second contract violation related to when the Absence Certificate needs to be submitted. Section 13.C.3. of the Contract requires the Absence Certificate to “be submitted to Company Medical on or before check-in time of a Lineholder’s first trip or a Reserve’s first assignment including Standby Reserve, following an illness or injury.” And that “If a physician’s release is not received, the Flight Attendant will have seventy-two (72) hours after her/his first trip flown or Standby Reserve assignment to provide the note.”

Be aware, the closing paragraph states, “If the absence certificate is not received within 72 hours of calling off sick leave, the flight attendant will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.” For those Flight Attendants who are familiar with the timing requirement under our Contract, management has made up and then imposed their own new requirement of when the Absence Certificate needs to be submitted.

The MEC immediately contacted AFA legal about filing an MEC grievance. While this process will take time, if you are affected by the new requirements, please keep records/receipts of any resulting costs, such as co-pays you would have otherwise not incurred.

All those meaningless phrases like, “Good Leads the Way” and “Core4”, continue to be just that, meaningless. Management’s actions are reprehensible. While extremely frustrating, management has made up and then implemented these new rules in violation of our Contract, but we must comply with them in order to avoid management taking “disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.”

Your Union Leadership recognizes the circumstances so many of us have endured over the last several days. Our continued professionalism through all of this demonstrates the commitment and the pride we carry as Aviation’s First Responders. Take care of each other, and we will keep you informed of all developments as they happen.