EBOD Resolution — AFA Actions to Support Keeping Families Together, Children Safe, and Opposition of ICE Raids Spreading Panic and Fear in Our Communities
Whereas, Flight Attendants are first responders and committed to the safety and wellbeing of every passenger on our planes; and,
Whereas, Flight Attendants serve as ambassadors of freedom, helping hundreds of millions of people traverse the United States and the globe; and,
Whereas, Flight Attendants are often the first to experience the fallout from a controversial change in public policy; and,
Whereas, in June 2018, AFA-CWA urgently requested a clear position from airlines on how they would respond to the family separations policy and whether they would use airline resources and personnel, which led to swift response from United Airlines, American Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Spirit Airlines who issued statements making it clear that airlines bring people together, not pull families apart and therefore would take no part in facilitating the policy; and,
Whereas, AFA members have been directly affected by this administration’s out-of-control policies when Flight Attendants working were held during the chaotic initial hours of the unconstitutional Muslim Ban and when we had to marshal the full resources of the union to secure the release of DACA recipient and DREAMer Flight Attendant Selene Saavedra Roman, who was unnecessarily detained by ICE at a private prison in the course of doing her job; and,
Whereas, the inhumane and unsafe conditions for immigrants detained at the southern border, including for the most vulnerable infants and children of all ages, are opposed to our values; and,
Whereas, the administration’s threat of ICE raids in cities where the vast majority of Flight Attendants are based, threatens once again to separate families as undocumented immigrants have U.S. citizen children; and,
Whereas, AFA-CWA believes all people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and that Families Belong Together; and,
Whereas, many Flight Attendants have voiced moral, ethical and religious objections to participating in the separation of families or deportation of our undocumented neighbors.
Therefore Be It Resolved, AFA-CWA opposes the inhumane and unsafe treatment of detainees at the southern border, especially children; and,
Be It Further Resolved, AFA-CWA supports comprehensive immigration reform and lawmakers and the administration doing their job rather than threatening ICE raids and mass deportations that will separate families and tell the world they are not welcome to travel to the United States; and,
Be It Further Resolved, AFA-CWA supports a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, a permanent fix for DREAMers and TPS recipients, and protections for asylum seekers; and,
Be It Further Resolved, AFA-CWA will engage with all airlines to provide clear guidance to Flight Attendants by issuing policies to answer the following questions:
- Whether detained immigrants, especially children separated from their parents or parents separated from their children could be on our flights;
- How Flight Attendants and our union will be notified if we are transporting detained persons for deportation;
- What steps should Flight Attendants take to refuse to work such a trip based upon their moral objections to this policy?
- What special instructions there may be for care of children designated for detention or deportation if they are on our flights;
- How to respond to passengers asking us questions about the airline’s role, if any, in transporting children to detention centers and/or for deportation away from their parents, transporting parents to detention centers and/or for deportation separate from their children, or transportation of any undocumented immigrant for detention and/or deportation
Be It Further Resolved, AFA will create an online form for Flight Attendants to report incidents of suspected family separation so that our union can address this with our airlines, law enforcement, and government officials; and,
Be It Finally Resolved, we call on our entire industry to work together to put a stop to any policies that lead to forced family separations, inhumane and unsafe conditions or spread panic and fear.
Unanimously Adopted
AFA-CWA Executive Board
June 25, 2019
