Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

April 11, 2025 - Over the weekend, the AFA Board of Directors met for our union’s 52nd Meeting in Orlando, Florida. AFA Local Executive Council (LEC) Presidents from each of our 20 AFA-represented airlines, Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers, International Officers, members, and guests came together for an in-person meeting.

Watch videos from the Board of Directors meeting here. View photos here. Watch the video recap:

The Board of Directors considered 1 Agenda Item, the 2025-2026 AFA-CWA budget. The final action on the agenda item will be posted to the AFA Board of Directors website by next week.

Your 2025 AFA Board of Directors

The Board of Directors also passed several resolutions, including a resolution related to this administration’s unconstitutional, anti-immigration actions. Flight Attendants at GlobalX have faced conditions onboard that do not allow Aviation’s First Responders to do our jobs properly in the event of an emergency. The resolution affirmed our commitment to support any aviation workers who take action based on moral objection to the facilitation of inhumane actions against people in our care, including deportation flights. We also promise to fight for aviation workers who are wrongfully detained; and advocate to our employers to prevent the use of our flights for the execution of extreme, immoral, or illegal deportations. Read the full resolution here.

Already this week, Avelo Airlines announced it would be opening a base in Arizona to do similar ICE charter flights. Avelo AFA Flight Attendants have raised concern about doing this flying. We have urged Avelo to reconsider this decision that has already caused reputational damage for the airline.

The Board also passed a resolution establishing the Ed Gilmartin AFA Legal Education Scholarship, a new scholarship that honors former longtime AFA General Counsel Ed Gilmartin’s legacy. The scholarship will go to an AFA member or member’s child who intends to pursue a career in union labor law.

Former Hawaiian and Alaska MEC Officers and reps attend as guests

In between the business of the meeting, members heard from Congressman Darren Soto (FL-9) and Congressman Maxwell Frost (FL-10), who reaffirmed their commitment to advancing Flight Attendant priorities and fighting for the working class in Congress.

We also honored many of our members during the meeting, celebrating everything from their service with AFA EAP to government affairs advocacy to air safety and more. Here is a list of our 2025 award winners:

• The EAP Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award honors EAP Committee members whose legacy of volunteerism within the AFA EAP Committee has earned them the highest level of national recognition. The award went to Gwenn Davidson (SPR MEC EAP Chair) and Lynnette Clark (QX MEC EAP Chair), who have each contributed twenty-plus years of service.
• The Edith Lauterbach Merit Award recognizes an AFA-CWA member who has demonstrated outstanding service to our union. The award went to Karen Koonce (EDV MEC EAP Chair).
• The Peggy Price LEC EAP Award was established to recognize and honor the extraordinary dedication of a local AFA EAP Committee. The award went to the United Council 6 AFA EAP Committee.
• The Terri Owen Government Affairs Activist Award was established to honor an AFA member whose actions have significantly contributed to the advancement of our profession and our union through their dedication to our government affairs programs. This award went to Cher Taylor (F9 MEC Government Affairs Chair).
• The C.B. Lansing Memorial Award is given to an AFA member who displays heroism beyond the call of duty in aviation. It is the highest honor a member may bestow upon a fellow member. The award was given to Hollie Gallagher and Rebecca Palazzola, the Flight Attendants working Endeavor Flight 4819, and Vanessa Miles and Alita Parker, deadheading Endeavor flying partners who assisted.
• The Ada Brown Lifetime Achievement Award is not given every year. It is named for the founder of our union, Ada Brown, and is given in recognition of contributions to the advancement of Flight Attendants and AFA’s mission through a lifetime of service. The Award went to Doris Millard, ARW MEC President, and Robert Barrow, Envoy MEC Grievance Chair.
• The Air Safety Award is presented in recognition of outstanding contributions by a member or members in the field of air safety. This year, we honored four Flight Attendants. Robin Coombs and Brian Tillman, PSA, in recognition of their work as part of the NTSB investigating team in the tragic aftermath of PSA Flight 5342; and Elizabeth Mullins and Beth Wendroth, Endeavor, for their work as Technical Advisors to the NTSB in the Canadian TSB Flight 4819 investigation.