

American Airlines flight attendants held a successful symbolic strike yesterday at American Airlines bases around the country. The TWU was on hand to support the Association of Professional Fight Attendants during their “OUR TURN Around Campaign” in Washington D.C., Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles and other bases around the country.
Picketers carried signs that read, “It’s Our Turn,” and, “Is Your Flight RED Today?” At all base airports APFA members announced certain designated flights as “Red Flights.” The flight attendants working the “red flights” wore symbolic red disks to indicate to the company the widespread problems that would be caused by a real strike.
Like TWU members employed by American in other fields, the company’s flight attendants made major concessions in 2003 to help their employer stay afloat. The company promised its workers “Shared Sacrifice, Shared Gain,” but today, American workers are hearing a different slogan in regards to the new contract: “Zero Sum.”
“In short, American demands that any improvement in wages, vacation, or any other benefit be offset by a concession of equal value,” APFA wrote in its negotiation update posted on their website. “Nothing goes into one of your pockets that hasn’t just been taken from another.”
Like APFA, TWU and other American unions are all engaged in the mediation process with assigned mediators working to gain an acceptable agreement, but American refuses to give its workers the contracts they deserve.
Learn more about APFA’s “Our Turn Around Campaign” at apfa.org.
TWU |
TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA AFL-CIO 1700 BROADWAY - SECOND FLOOR NEW YORK, NY, 10019 212-259-4900 OFFICE 212-265-4537 FAX |