Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

AFA Disaster Relief Fund: Apply or Help Your Flying Partners

September 3, 2021 - 

• AFA Disaster Relief Fund: Apply or Help Your Flying Partners
• Happy Labor Day 2021
• FADAP: September is National Recovery Month
• AFA Links and News On the Fly

AFA Disaster Relief Fund: Apply or Help Your Flying Partners

Due to recent extreme weather events in California, Tennessee, Michigan and Louisiana, Flight Attendants and their families are dealing with food and water shortages, flooding, house damage and more.

The federal government has declared these areas major disasters, eligible for individual assistance. This triggers support from our Disaster Relief Fund, which operates from the generosity of other Flight Attendants and our supporters. We need your help now to make sure we can assist everyone hurting.

If you are a Flight Attendant living in one of these counties and has suffered significant damage and/or relocation as a result of this disaster, get help from the AFA-CWA Disaster Relief Fund >

If you'd like to help your flying partners recover from this disaster, Donate to the AFA-CWA Disaster Relief Fund >

AFA EAP is also available to help Flight Attendants dealing with extreme events 844-232-2228, Ext. 1.

We are continuing to monitor the devastation left in Ida’s wake and will update affected areas as they are eligible.

Happy Labor Day 2021

AFA President Sara Nelson tells a story from her early days as a Flight Attendant at United. Her flying partner told her how the union had changed flying. In the early days, only women could hold this job. If you got married, had a baby, turned 32 or didn’t meet weight and beauty requirements, you could be fired on the spot. Our Flight Attendant Union turned flying into a career. “Wear your pin proudly,” Sara’s flying partner told her. “Your place of worth is with your flying partners in our union. Together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.”

These last 18 months have tested us—as we navigated COVID-19, an industry on the verge of collapse, unruly passengers, packed summer schedules, operational meltdowns, and extreme weather events across the country. But through it all we have fought and saved our jobs, our industry and each other—together. Our relentless fight to pass and extend the Payroll Support Program through this September means we are facing a much different Fall than last year. 

There is so much that may seem out of our control today, but there is a lot that can change for the better if we recognize the power of standing together. This Labor Day, wear your AFA pin and take time to recognize the contributions of a flying partner. Tell someone – thank you, it's nice to work with you. The truth is, being together is the best part of our job. We are Stronger Together and Better Together. Happy Labor Day!

FADAP: September is National Recovery Month

September 2021 is National Recovery Month. This year's theme is, “Recovery is For Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community” to remind people in recovery and those who support them that no one is alone in the journey through recovery. Everyone's journey is different, but we are all in this together. Recovery Month will continue to educate about substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders, about the effectiveness of treatment and recovery services, and that recovery is possible.

“Wings of Sobriety” meetings are open to all Flight Attendants who are exploring their need for or seeking recovery from substance use disorders. Meeting times are scheduled on Wednesday at 3:00 pm EST and Sunday at 5:00 pm EST. Each meeting will last between 45 minutes to an hour. The conference call-in number is: 1-855-544-2320.

Learn More about FADAP: The Flight Attendant Drug and Alcohol Program (FADAP) is a substance-abuse prevention program created and run by Flight Attendants and AFA, and funded through the FAA. FADAP's mission is to support a culture of safety which will be able to assist flight attendants in meeting their personal and professional goals through substance-abuse awareness, combined with self and peer referrals for assistance, and the implementation of a flight-attendant-specific recovery support system.

AFA Links and News On the Fly

• AFA COVID Exposure/Test-Positive Reporting Form
• Flight Attendant Vaccine Status Survey
• Need to Get Vaccinated? Go to Vaccines.gov.
• Support Delta Flight Attendants!
• AFA EAP, Safety, and Membership Phone

• Flight Attendant Abuse Is Escalating. Here's How Passengers Can Help., Huffington Post

• How Unruly Do Airline Passengers Have to Be Before the Government Decides to Prosecute?, Skift

• Woman Faces Federal Assault Charges After Allegedly Attacking Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant In May, CBS LA

• A Big Fight Lies Ahead for U.S. Labor to Lock In Pandemic Gains, Bloomberg

• FAA Asking for Help With a Record Number of Unruly Passengers, NBC Los Angeles

• Fight Or Flight Attendant with Sara Nelson, Crooked Media’s What A Day 

• Starbucks’s long history of fending off unions may be coming to an end, Fast Company 

• Flight Attendant Union Leader: Alcohol Is Big Factor In Rise Of Airline Incidents, NPR’s All Things Considered

• How airlines are helping evacuate Afghanistan, Fox Business

• Flight attendants rightly defend ground in the air (Editorial), MassLive

• How COVID has changed airplane food and in-flight service, Los Angeles Times