Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

Washington, DC, January 11, 2013 – Spirit Airlines Flight Attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) filed a lawsuit against airline management for forcing Flight Attendants who wish to provide health insurance for their domestic partners into a lesser quality plan. The lawsuit accuses management of exploiting procedural loopholes to avoid their obligation of providing equal benefits to Flight Attendants.

“We are outraged that management refuses to treat the families of their employees equally. At a time when equality issues have sparked a social awakening across our nation, management’s trampling on employees’ rights is deplorable. Their discriminatory behavior must be rectified immediately. Flight Attendants worked hard to ensure that these rights were included in our legally binding contract so that we could provide healthcare security for our loved ones. Shame on Spirit management for their blatant disregard for equality and for turning their backs on their obligations,” said Todd St. Pierre, AFA President at Spirit.

AFA filed a grievance in July 2012 after management violated the Flight Attendant collective bargaining agreement by denying legally recognized domestic partners to participate in the various health care plans administered by Spirit Airlines. Despite an impartial arbitrator’s ruling, management continues to discriminate against Flight Attendants and deny the inclusion of domestic partners into the same health care plan open to married couples.

The Association of Flight Attendants is the world’s largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 67 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 60,000 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 .