Tag Archives for union.
Flight attendant Ali Bahreman is challenging the airline’s contract with its flight attendants union which takes away scheduling rights from employees for non-payment in a case with significant implications for the heavily-unionized airline industry.
In an update from the head of the American Airlines flight attendants union, crewmembers were briefed on the union’s priorities, reflected in their discussions with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
This includes a third airline bailout, vaccine priority, and a “a comprehensive ‘No-Fly List’ to further address threatening and abusive behavior on the airplane”
The President of the American Airlines flight attendants union Julie Hedrick sent a note to cabin crew members where she takes credit for preventing their airline from offering full beverage service in economy.
It’s one of several tidbits she reveals in a new communication with flight attendants.
Publicly the flight attendants union has been saying no to concessions, and also implies to members that the airline won’t go through with furloughs – that WARN Act notices will be nothing to worry about. That’s a dangerous position. It suggests Southwest is bluffing and will pay to remain fully overstaffed, while its competitors have succeeded in downsizing and when the airline has publicly told investors they’re unable to do that.
Listening to the flight attendants melt down over this, or celebrate in pure joy, is an act of unrivaled schadenfreude. On your next American Airlines flight it may be the cabin crew brawling, rather than passengers in a mask dispute
After bringing American Airlines to its operational knees last summer, the airline’s mechanics won a generous contract right before the pandemic hit – a deal they would never get today.
Nonetheless AMFA, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, has been trying to ‘raid’ American Airlines and seek to take away representation of the mechanics.
Delta Air Lines won’t be furloughing any flight attendants this year, even as its largest competitors lay off thousands.
Last Labor Day Delta gave its non-union workforce a big raise. This Labor Day their flight attendants get to keep their jobs. Delta has made a strong argument to its flight attendants not to unionize.
The American Airlines flight attendants union, Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), is exceptionally weak. They’ve been dysfunctional for years. I’ve written in the past about efforts by the larger Association of Flight Attendants, which is affiliated with the Communications Workers of America and AFL-CIO, to get their nose in under the tent.
Reading through the mid-August minutes of the APFA’s Executive Committee meeting I was initially struck by just three things.
Furloughs shrink the union budget, but non-paying union members can’t vote. Taking the newest hires out of the equation protects old guard union leadership. The union was already weakened, having squandered its cash, and has been downright docile during the Covid crisis. But the company has lost all of its leverage by furloughing flight attendants, rather than holding out the potential to minimize furloughs in exchange for a concessionary contract.
American wanted to shed its flight attendant workforce by 12,600 (or 47% of flight attendants). They couldn’t have done that right away because they only sent out 9950 WARN Act notices. Leaves and voluntary quits did not – as promised – trade off with threatened layoffs, but were used to increase the number of flight attendants who won’t be working for the airline October 1.
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 »
