Association of Flight Attendants

American labor union

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AFA-CWA

Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

Founded| August 22, 1945
Headquarters| Washington, D.C.
Location|

* United States

Members| 45,377

Key people

* Sara Nelson, Int'l President
* Keturah Johnson, Int'l Vice President
* Dante Harris, Int'l Secretary-Treasurer

Affiliations|

* AFL–CIO
* CWA
* ITF
* TUC

Website| www.afacwa.org

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (commonly known as AFA) is a union representing flight attendants in the United States. As of January 2018, AFA represents 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines. Since 2004, AFA has been part of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), an affiliate of AFL–CIO. AFA is also an affiliate of the International Transport Workers' Federation.

## History

[edit]

Efforts to unionize flight attendants began prior to the 1940s but were often met with resistance, including intimidation and dismissals of organizers. In 1944, Ada Brown and four other flight attendants founded the Airline Stewardess Association (ALSA), later a precursor to the Association of Flight Attendants. Unlike earlier attempts, ALSA faced no opposition from United Airlines, which opted to work with the new union. ALSA was officially established on August 22, 1945.[1]

The Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) played an early supportive role, providing information and materials to ALSA. However, tensions soon emerged between the two groups. ALPA had plans to unionize airline employees more broadly, and ALSA’s independent efforts were seen as a challenge to that goal. Negotiations between ALSA and United Airlines began in December 1945, with Ada Brown, Frances Hall, and Sally Thometz representing the union. The talks continued into 1946 and were financially supported by small individual donations. ALSA signed its first contract with United on April 25, 1946.[1]

The contract introduced limits on working hours, capping flight time at 85 hours per month and 255 hours over three months. It also raised starting salaries from $125 to $155. Talks of union consolidation followed, and on December 2, 1949, ALSA merged with the Air Line Stewards and Stewardesses Association (ALSSA), an affiliate of ALPA. By 1951, ALSSA had grown to 3,300 members.[1]

ALPA created two separate divisions in 1960, one for pilots, and one for stewards and stewardesses. Nearly half of the USA's 8,700 flight attendants were members of ALPA's S&S division at that time. Discussions about autonomy for the S & S division of the ALPA kicked up during the 1970s. A vote for autonomy was conducted in June 1973 however the necessary favorable votes (2/3rds) were not reached.[1] A second vote was conducted in October 1973 and a similar outcome was reached.[1] Later that year S & S Division formed the independent Association of Flight Attendants, leaving ALPA.

In 1973, ALSSA flight attendants chose self-determination and formed the independent Association of Flight Attendants, leaving ALPA.[2]

In 1982, AFA had 22,000 members at 18 American airlines. In 1984, the AFL–CIO granted AFA a charter.[3]

In 2004, after the September 11th attacks, the AFA merged with the Communication Workers of America.[2][4]

## Organizing

[edit]

In July 2006, Northwest Airlines flight attendants voted to replace their independent union with AFA. AFA's membership rose to 55,000 flight attendants. On November 4, 2010, AFA was decertified by the National Mediation Board as the bargaining representative for the pre-merger Northwest Airlines flight attendants of Delta Air Lines, after narrowly losing a representational election of the combined group the day before.[5] AFA filed objections to the election with the National Mediation Board alleging interference.[6]

On June 29, 2011, AFA won one of the largest private sector union elections in decades, winning representation rights for the combined workforce of approximately 24,000 flight attendants at United Airlines, Continental Airlines and Continental Micronesia.[7] That election was triggered by a National Mediation Board ruling that those airlines had formed a single transportation system as a result of a corporate merger.

## CHAOS

[edit]

AFA-CWA members threaten CHAOS at Northwest Airlines August 15, 2006 at San Francisco International Airport

CHAOS is AFA's trademarked strategy of intermittent strikes designed to maximize the impact of an industrial action while minimizing the risk for striking flight attendants.[citation needed]

In May 1993, AFA members at Seattle-based Alaska Airlines were facing a 30-day cooling-off period after more than three years of negotiations.[8] In June, 1993, the cooling-off period mandated by the Railway Labor Act had expired. The first CHAOS strike took place in Seattle when three flight attendants walked off an Alaska Airlines flight just before passenger boarding.[9] A month later, another crew of flight attendants struck the last flight out of Las Vegas.[10] A few weeks later, AFA struck five flights simultaneously in the San Francisco area.[11]

America West,[12] AirTran and US Airways[13] all settled with AFA on the eve of, or a few minutes after, the end of a 30-day cooling-off period in the 1990s. AFA flight attendants at Midwest Express (now Midwest Airlines), completed a cooling-off period without reaching agreement on a first contract in 2002. After three weeks of a CHAOS campaign, and on the eve of CHAOS strikes,[14] management agreed to terms that were ratified by the flight attendants. United Airlines flight attendants used the threat of CHAOS to leverage their negotiations during the airline's bankruptcy,[15] succeeding in doubling the value of the replacement retirement plan management had proposed.[citation needed]

Flight attendants at Northwest Airlines, locked in a round of bankruptcy negotiations, deployed a CHAOS campaign days after joining AFA in July, 2006.[16] Union negotiators concluded a new tentative agreement with millions of dollars in improvements, but which was voted down by a narrow margin. AFA continued preparations for CHAOS strikes at Northwest pending the outcome of negotiations and litigation surrounding the case.[17]

The bankruptcy court ruled in favor of the union, denying the strike injunction sought by management.[18] On appeal, the federal district court and the court of appeals ruled that workers under the Railway Labor Act cannot strike in response to rejection of a collective bargaining agreement in bankruptcy.[19] Northwest and AFA returned to negotiations and reached a new tentative agreement, which was narrowly ratified by the flight attendants on May 29, 2007.[20] The flight attendants became the last major work group at Northwest to agree to new contract terms in bankruptcy. The new contract provided Northwest with $195 million in annual cuts through 2011, and secured a $182 million equity claim for the flight attendants before it was lost upon the company's exit from bankruptcy.[citation needed]

On August 16, 2023, Alaska Airlines flight attendants protested across the US for better wages and working conditions.[21] Across the US, it has been estimated that over 1,000 flight attendants were in attention outside of airports demanding a higher pay.[22][21][23] In September flight attendants a part of the union voted for a new contract with a 99.47% approval rating.[24]

On August 28, 2024, AFA members voted with 99.99% approval to authorize a labor strike, with 90.21% members participating.[25][26] However, no strike was immediately called, with negotiations between AFA and United Airlines continuing.[27]

## Member flight attendant groups

[edit]

AFA represents the flight attendants at the following airlines:[28][29]

* Air Wisconsin Airlines
* Alaska Airlines
* Air Transport International
* Avelo Airlines
* Breeze Airways
* Delta Organizing
* Eastern Airlines
* Endeavor Air
* Envoy Air
* Frontier Airlines
* GoJet Airlines
* Hawaiian Airlines
* Horizon Air
* Legacy U.S Airways
* Mesa Airlines
* Norse Atlantic Airways
* Omni Air International
* Piedmont Airlines
* PSA Airlines
* SkyWest Organizing
* Silver Airways
* Spirit Airlines
* United Airlines

## Presidents

[edit]

1945: Ada Brown [30]
1947: Frances Hall[31]
1948: Irene Eastin[31]
1951: Mary Alice Koos[31]
1953 Rowland K. Quinn Jr[31]
1973: Kelly Rueck
1979: Linda Puchala[32][33]
1986: Susan Bianchi-Sand
1991: Dee Maki
1995: Patricia A. Friend
2010: Veda Shook
2014: Sara Nelson

## See also

[edit]

* Organized labour portal
* Aviation portal
* United States portal

* Communications Workers of America

## Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Nielsen, Georgia Panter (1982). From sky girl to flight attendant: women and the making of a union. Ithica, NY: ILR Press. ISBN 978-0-87546-093-2.
2. ^ a b World, Special to People’s (2012-08-22). "Today in labor history: Air Line Stewardesses Association formed". People's World. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
3. ^ Nielsen, passim.
4. ^ "AFA-CWA Plans CHAOS to Stop Industry Assault". Communications Workers of America. 19 November 2004. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
5. ^ Mutzabaugh, Ben (November 4, 2010). "Aviation Photos & Video". USA Today.
6. ^ "Union claims Delta interfered in election". David Shaffer. Minneapolis Star Tribune. November 23, 2010
7. ^ "United Continental flight attendants pick a union, by Joshua Freed, AP". Seattle Post Intelligencer.[dead link]
8. ^ Borer p. 567.
9. ^ Polly Lane (1993-08-23). "Striking Flight Attendants Suspended - Union Delays Its First Alaska Trip". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
10. ^ "Alaska Airline Workers Delay Las Vegas Flight". Seattle Times. 1993-08-25. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
11. ^ "Alaska Suspends 17 More Attendants After Flights Disrupted". Seattle Times. 1993-09-14. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
12. ^ "America West Strike Looms", CNN, web posted March 19, 1999. Archived February 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
13. ^ "US Airways Flight Attendants Hold News Conference, CNN, aired March 24, 2000 - 11:03 a.m. ET". CNN. 2000-03-24. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
14. ^ "Union Keeps Midwest Express Guessing", by Rick Barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 1, 2002. Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
15. ^ Gregory Meyer (April 29, 2005). "UAL Flight Attendants Threaten CHAOS". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
16. ^ Jeff Horwich (2006-08-01). "How chaotic would CHAOS be for Northwest?". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
17. ^ Dale Russakoff (August 25, 2006). "Cabin Pressure - The Union Promises to Wreak 'Chaos' As Another Carrier Downsizes a Career". Washington Post. p. D01. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
18. ^ Jeff Horwich (2006-08-17). "Judge rules Northwest flight attendants can strike". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
19. ^ Padraic Cassidy (March 29, 2007). "Court upholds strike ban on Northwest's flight attendants". MarketWatch. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
20. ^ "Northwest flight attendants okay bargaining agreement". Reuters. 2007-05-29. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
21. ^ a b ago, Alex DeMarban Updated: 18 hours ago Published: 19 hours. "Alaska Airlines flight attendants protest at Ted Stevens Anchorage airport". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2023-08-16.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
22. ^ Alaska Airlines flight attendants picket for better wages, working conditions, retrieved 2023-08-16
23. ^ Groves, David (2023-08-16). "Alaska's flight attendants: Pay Us or Chaos!". The Stand. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
24. ^ Sainato, Michael (2023-09-17). "Flight attendants threaten strikes over low pay and unpaid work". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-22.
25. ^ "United Airlines flight attendants vote to authorize strike". Reuters. August 28, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
26. ^ "Flight Attendants at United Airlines Vote 99.99% to Authorize a Strike". Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. August 28, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
27. ^ Wichter, Zach (August 28, 2024). "United Airlines flight attendants are prepared to strike. Here's why it's still unlikely". USA Today. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
28. ^ "Our Airlines". AFA CWA. Association of Flight Attendants CWA.
29. ^ "Our Airlines". Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. Retrieved 2024-07-30.
30. ^ Kuttner, Robert (2023-09-28). "A Union of Their Own". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
31. ^ a b c d Nielsen, Georgia Panter (1982). From sky girl to flight attendant: women and the making of a union. Ithica, NY: ILR Press. ISBN 978-0-87546-093-2.
32. ^ Nielsen, pp. 135–136.
33. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration". whitehouse.gov. September 15, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017 – via National Archives.

### Works cited

[edit]

* Nielsen, Georgia Panter (1982). From Skygirl to Flight Attendant, Women and the Making of a Union. Ithaca, New York: ILR Press/Cornell. ISBN 978-0-87546-093-2.
* Borer, David A. (1995). "Doing Battle: Flight Attendant Labor Relations in '90s". In Darryl Jenkins (ed.). Handbook of Airline Economics. Aviation Week Grp., Div. of McGraw-Hill. pp. 563–568\. ISBN 0-07-607087-5.

## External links

[edit]

* Official AFA International site
* AFA United Airlines MEC
* AFA US Airways MEC
* AFA American Eagle MEC
* Communications Workers of America
* The Council 5 Connection (Local Site)
* The Council 11 Connection (Local Site)
* The Council 42 Website (Local Site)

* v
* t
* e

AFL-CIO

Governance|

| Presidents|

* George Meany (1955–1979)
* Lane Kirkland (1979–1995)
* Thomas R. Donahue (1995)
* John J. Sweeney (1995–2009)
* Richard Trumka (2009–2021)
* Liz Shuler (2021–present)

|

Departments|

* Building Trades
* Maritime Trades
* Metal Trades
* Professional Employees
* Transportation Trades
* Union Label

Constituency groups|

* A. Philip Randolph Institute
* Alliance for Retired Americans
* Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
* Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
* Coalition of Labor Union Women
* Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
* Pride at Work
* Union Veterans Council

Allied organizations|

* International Labor Communications Association
* Solidarity Center
* Working for America Institute

Allied groups|

* American Rights at Work
* International Rescue Committee
* Jewish Labor Committee
* Labor and Working-Class History Association
* Working America

Programs|

* AFL–CIO Employees Federal Credit Union
* National Labor College

Affiliated unions|

* AAAA
* AGMA
* AGVA
* GIAA
* AEA
* AFGE
* AFM
* AFSA
* AFSCME
* AFT
* ALPA
* APWU
* ARA
* ATDA
* ATU
* AWIU
* BAC
* BCTGM
* BRS
* CSEA
* CWA
* AFA
* IUE
* NABET
* PPMW
* TNG Locals
* FLOC
* GMPIU
* IAFF
* IAM
* NFFE
* TCIU
* IATSE
* IBB
* IBEW
* IFPTE
* ILA
* Ironworkers
* IUANPW
* IUEC
* IUOE
* IUPA
* IUPAT
* LIUNA
* NPMHU
* MEBA
* PASS
* NALC
* NATCA
* NFLPA
* NNU
* NTWA
* NWSLPA
* OPCMIA
* OPEIU
* Printers & Engravers
* SAG-AFTRA
* SIU
* SEIU
* CIR
* NAGE
* NCFO
* Workers United
* SMART
* TWU
* UA
* UAW
* UFCW
* DWAW
* RWDSU
* UMWA
* UNITE HERE
* USW
* UURWAW
* UWUA
* WGAE

State federations and
central labor councils|

* California (Los Angeles, South Bay)
* Florida
* Indiana
* Maine
* Massachusetts
* New York (New York City)
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* Washington State (King)
* West Virginia

See also|

* American Federation of Labor
* Congress of Industrial Organizations
* Directly affiliated local union

* v
* t
* e

Strategic Organizing Center

Chairs|

* Anna Burger (2005–2010)
* Joseph T. Hansen (2010–present)

Member unions|

* CWA
* AFA
* IUE
* NABET
* PPMW
* TNG
* SEIU
* CIR
* NAGE
* NCFO
* Workers United
* UFW

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel

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