Several rival flight attendant unions have joined forces to organize what is being billed as a ‘historic day of action’ in protest at low pay, outdated work rules and protracted contract negotiations that have raised the spectre of the first strike action by U.S.-based flight attendants in decades.
Flight attendants from a slew of airlines, including American Airlines, Alaska, Air Wisconsin, United, Southwest and more, will be gathering at 30 airports across the United States, as well as international outstations as far afield as London and Guam, to make their voices heard on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s ‘day of action’ is the first time that flight attendants at 24 different airlines have coordinated their protests so that they descend on some of the biggest airports in the United States in unison.
“Flight Attendants are working harder than ever with long days, short nights, more time away from family, and in some of the most difficult working conditions of our history,” commented the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) ahead of the protests.
“Some Flight Attendants haven’t had a raise in five years. Working conditions and pay have been eroded by consistent operational issues and cost of living significantly higher following the pandemic.”
As many as 100,000 flight attendants have been locked in contract negotiations for years, and despite the rising cost of living, wages won’t go up until contract deals are finally struck.
Flight attendants at American Airlines and Southwest have already in favor of backing strike action unless their demands are met, while crew members at Alaska Airlines are still taking part in a strike authorization ballot.
AFA has warned that it will also call a strike authorization vote at United unless progress isn’t made soon in prolonged contract talks.
The rallies are seen as a key way to put pressure on the airlines because it’s so hard for airline workers to actually go on strike in the United States. Flight attendants at AA have already been rebuffed once by independent federal officials for permission to go on strike while a second request is still being considered.
