Tag Archives for flight attendants.
Even before the pandemic United cut flight attendant staffing in business class. They replaced proper plating of meals in the galley by a flight attendant with less attractive pre-plated meals.
The union wants staffing levels restored, and to pressure the airline as part of slow-moving contract negotiations they’re asking flight attendants to report their own poor service.
9,000 people signed a petition asking Delta Air Lines to reconsider. Delta did not respond to the petition.
Now the AFA-CWA union, which is trying to organize Delta flight attendants, is using that to drum up anger at the airline that might help their cause.
American Airlines is cracking down on flight attendants who aren’t wearing their uniforms correctly, or who violate the carrier’s appearance standards. A message went out from a flight service manager to flight attendants earlier this week. It announces a goal of 100% uniform compliance, and warns that flight service managers will be in airports conducting checks and to write up crew.
Cabin crew at American, Southwest, United, Alaska, Spirit and JetBlue are all unionized. flight attendants at Delta Air Lines are not. This not only helps AFA-CWA avoid the costs of its support for the original lawsuit seeking to have airlines covered by state rest rules, it helps them in their battle to unionize Delta.
ESPN Sportscenter anchor Ashley Brewer chronicled drama between flight attendants on an American Eagle regional jet operated by SkyWest. Flying to see her fiance for 24 hours, the moments of her short visit ticked away as two cabin crew members got into a fight over a passenger’s seating request. In the end they refused to work together, one left, and the flight took a delay to try to replace crew.
American Airlines isn’t just negotiating with its pilots. They have an amendable contract with flight attendants as well, and have for years. Negotiations have progressed slowly but the Association of Professional Flight Attendants has now presented their economic proposal to the company. And as some in Dallas might say, bless their hearts?
A taser wouldn’t have prevented the attack. Unless cabin crew have their tasers out at all times, they won’t be protection against a passenger coming at them by surprise.
And the taser won’t be a deterrent either because an attack like this one is done by a passenger who is mentally unbalanced, not someone making a rational calculation.
American Airlines flight attendants have taken the first step towards a strike in requesting a federal mediator to assist in negotiations that have dragged on for years.
At the same time, the union has updated its members on the status of contract discussions.
United Airlines flight attendants, represented by the AFA-CWA union, have been working on a contract over the past year and a half and report very little progress. Direct negotiations began in January 2022, yet there’s been resolution on just one section out of 34 in their contract – dealing with flight attendants taken hostage.
Here’s what they’re demanding, and why negotiations are stuck.
American Airlines re-assures crew that the audits are being performed by “non-threatening” employees riding in the jumpseat and taking notes on their behavior.
However some crew find working in new domestic ‘Oasis’ galleys, that have limited workspace (because it’s been condensed to make room for more seats) challenging enough as it is. American highlights that it hopes to see lower insurance costs out of the program, improved employee morale (?), and lower costs from workplace injuries.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
