On Tuesday, tens of thousands of flight attendantsheld informational pickets at major airports across the country – including both major airports in North Texas.
Around 100,000 flight attendants from at least 10 airlines will gather alongside their friends and family outside of airports in more than 30 cities across the United States, the United Kingdom and Guam – all in the effort to demand better pay and working conditions.
At least 250 flight attendants with American, United and other airlines began the informational picket at 11 a.m. in Terminal C at DFW Airport. Southwest Airlines flight attendants began their picket at the same time at Dallas Love Field.
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Three flight attendant unions – Transport Workers Union (TWU), Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) – came together for what was called the “Worldwide Flight Attendant Day of Action.”
Union leaders said it was the largest number of flight attendants to gather like this in the history of aviation.
“Across the industry, airline management does not respect flight attendants,” said Tyesha Best, President of TWU Local 579, representing nearly 7,000 JetBlue flight attendants. “That is reflected in our contracts, pay, and union-to-company work dynamics. Their inability to relate to the day-to-day struggles operationally is reflected in our substandard work rules, subpar safety protocols, and lack of flexibility to have a quality life.”
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By union rules, the informational picket involves flight attendants who are already scheduled off work so travelers would not be affected.
Their effort comes at a time when more than two-thirds of flight attendants in the United States are in the middle of contract negotiations with airlines, including Fort Worth-based American Airlines, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines and Frontier Airlines.
“This coalition is putting the carriers on notice that flight attendants are locking arms and standing together as labor unions to improve the conditions for all of us and for the aviation industry,” said Corliss King, Second Vice President of TWU Local 556, which represents the approximately 20,000 Southwest Airlines flight attendants.
Julie Hedrick, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants based in Euless – which represents more than 27,000 American Airlines flight attendants – said many of her colleagues are working under contracts that haven't been updated since before the pandemic, despite dealing with inflation, unruly passengers, and the post-pandemic travel surge.
"This has been going on way too long. I can tell you at American, we are working under wages that were negotiated back in 2014. The cost of living has gone up tremendously since then and we've been back in negotiations after COVID-19 for 2.5 years. I will say our flight attendants at American have not had a raise in five years,” she said. "The rent has gone up in all of the cities that we are based in. We have bases in 10 of the most expensive cities across this country. It is time to get these contracts done for all of the flight attendants across this country."
Aside from better pay, unions want retirement security and for flight attendants to be paid during passenger boarding and other moments in the workday – which is not covered in current employment contracts.
"Number one, we need our companies to recognize what we did do during COVID, what our jobs are today and how it's changed. And really getting the contracts we deserve is how they do that,” said Hedrick. “Our CEOs are taking millions in bonuses while we sit here without wage increases for five years. It's time for that to change. It's time for our flight attendants to get the contracts that they deserve."
Pilots at the big three U.S. air carriers got lucrative new contracts last year amid their own fight with the airlines, which experts say put the flight attendant talks on the backburner.
Southwest Airlines reached a tentative agreement on a contract in December, but it was turned down by the union.
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 556, representing nearly 19,000 flight attendants for SWA, said in a statement at the time “this proposed contract is not going to heal the hurt.”
Currently, American Airlines flight attendants have asked to be released from the National Mediation Board twice as negotiations fail to move forward. The first request was rejected.
A release from mediation, if it were to happen, would trigger a 30-day cooling-off period then the APFA would be free to strike, which is a right granted under the Railway Labor Act. The next meeting with the mediation board is set for March 13.
Meantime, Alaska Airlines flight attendants are holding a strike authorization vote that ends on Tuesday.
Hedrick said the flight attendants showed their support for striking workers in the auto industry and the Hollywood writers industry last year – which she said has solidified their thoughts going into 2024.
"We want a contract, that is for sure. Our goal is to get a contract, but we will do whatever it takes to get the contracts that we deserve. And that is like you've seen across this country in the past year. These strikes definitely put pressure on the companies to come to the table," she said. "We're all fighting to put food on the table and to make sure that we have a safe place to sleep."
