Flight Attendant Union To US Airways: Sacrifices Must Be Recognized
Washington, DC – Flight Attendants represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), from each of the pre-merger airlines, US Airways and former America West, voted against a tentative agreement offered by US Airways management. Ninety percent of the over 6,700 combined Flight Attendants participated in the voting process.
“Since the onset of negotiations, Flight Attendants have been steadfast and determined that an agreement must address the needs identified by the membership. Flight Attendants have subsidized the cost of the merger and rising fuel costs for the ‘New US Airways.’ Management must recognize that our sacrifices have directly contributed to the success of US Airways,” said Deborah Volpe, AFA pre-merger America West President and Mark Gentile, AFA pre-merger US Airways acting President.
The National Mediation Board (NMB) will retain oversight under Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act. AFA will conduct a survey of members to determine which items in the tentative agreement need to be modified in order to reach an agreement that can be ratified.
“US Airways Flight Attendants’ voices were heard loud and clear: it is imperative that we obtain substantial improvements to our current contracts. We are committed to improving our future,” added Volpe and Gentile.
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 over 65 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 at 21 airlines come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. www.afacwa.org.
