Flight Attendant Union Statement on Deal to Avert Continued Shutdown
Washington, DC (February 15, 2019) — From Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) President Sara Nelson, representing 50,000 Flight Attendants at 20 airlines:
"We commend the bipartisan effort to secure stable funding for the critical jobs that federal workers do. Policy issues must be handled through the legislative process. It is irresponsible and undemocratic to risk the safety, security, and economic stability of Americans by holding our government hostage to extract policy concessions.
"The unprecedented 35-day shutdown and the continued uncertainty of the last three weeks, put the lives and livelihoods of flight attendants, pilots, and our passengers at risk. The systems that keep our aviation system safe and secure were stretched to a breaking point, and now can just begin to recover.
"We will continue to fight for backpay for federal contractors who still feel the pain of the longest government shutdown in our history. We have averted continued catastrophe for almost two million workers, and the rest of us who would lose our own job security without them. We need to fix the abysmal labor rights in this country for federal workers and all working people. Improving labor rights for every worker in the U.S. will go far to stop government shutdowns.
"While Flight Attendants are relieved to avoid a continued shutdown, we must work to ensure they never happen again. Our safety and security is not a political game. Aviation is the very symbol of freedom. It connects people from around the world when some can only dream of crossing borders. We are committed to fighting for dignity and humane treatment of all people.
"Whether on the ground or in the air, we will continue to fight because we are in this together."
Contact: Taylor Garland at [email protected].
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The Association of Flight Attendants is the Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 73 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 50,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.
