Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

Washington, D.C. (April 26, 2017) — The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) today praised the introduction of Flags of Convenience Don’t Fly Here Act (H.R.  2150) by Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Rick Larsen (D-MA) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) to ensure foreign air carrier carriers do not undermine labor rights or standards in aviation.

"This legislation reflects the national outcry for maintaining U.S. industry and good American jobs,” said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants. “Congress should act fast to protect the airline industry which was born in the U.S. and the people who make it possible to connect us with the rest of the world today. We applaud Representatives DeFazio, Larsen and LoBiondo for their steadfast leadership in promoting the safest aviation system in the world and which is a substantial driver of the U.S. economy.”

This legislation would cement Article 17 bis in the U.S.-EU Open Skies Agreement that states opportunities made available by this agreement are not to be used to undermine labor standards. This legislation would protect against outsourcing that would be allowed by the ‘flags of convenience’ model that would shift good jobs to countries with no ability for employees to bargain. Under ‘flags of convenience’ jobs are transferred to countries without labor rights and with the lowest pay and working conditions.

AFA and other unions around the world are united in fighting this business model in aviation. AFA International President Sara Nelson was in Norway this week where she met with a dozen European unions strategizing on how to stop ‘flags of convenience’ and protect good jobs in the U.S. and EU as intended by the Open Skies Agreement.

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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 71 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.