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A Message from the
International President |
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Dear AFA-CWA
Member,
Today I will
be driving to the AFL-CIO
Convention in
Pittsburgh and my
route will take me near
Shanksville,
Pennsylvania, where our
fellow AFA-CWA members on United Airlines Flight 93 bravely gave
their lives in the line of duty eight years ago.
It seems fitting to be near that hallowed
ground in a week that begins with Labor Day, when we remember
the extraordinary sacrifices of the working women and men who
have shaped our country, and ends with the anniversary of the
terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, that changed the world
forever. It is fitting that President Barack Obama’s
address to AFL-CIO Convention
Delegates will take place just 80 miles from the Shanksville
memorial at a time when we honor the brave sacrifices of our
flying partners and our many other colleagues in the labor
movement.
Aside from the importance of these notable
events that bookend this second week of September, our personal
experience, as flight attendants, is unique. As many Americans
took time off from work with their friends and families to enjoy
the holiday weekend, we faced one of our busiest travel times of
the year and this Friday, we will rise again, pause to remember
our colleagues, and continue our duties as safety and security
professionals.
Many of us may be experiencing fatigue from a
busy flight schedule as we prepare for a most solemn
anniversary. Attached to this email is a thoughtful memo from
the AFA-CWA International EAP entitled: Personal Strategies for
Approaching the Anniversary of September 11. I hope you will
take a moment to read it and to consider how you might tend to
your own personal needs on this sad and potentially stressful
anniversary for many in our profession.
Alongside any feelings of stress we may
experience, we must also bear in mind that we have made
significant strides in advancing health, safety and security in
our profession over the past eight years. In the fall of 2003,
Congress established a flight attendant certification
requirement; the Department of Labor reclassified our profession
as 'essential transportation workers' from the former category
of 'personal care providers' earlier this year, representing a
substantial boost in our occupational status; we are on the
threshold of FMLA fairness for all flight crews; we are
rebuilding our contracts amidst unsettled oil prices and an
improving but jittery economy; and our work to advance safety
and security in the aircraft cabin continues.
This confluence of the Labor Day holiday and
the eighth anniversary of September 11 forms, in a sense, a new
season of solidarity where we take pride in being in the labor
movement, proud that AFA-CWA remains vigilant over our
profession and to remind ourselves that we are the front-line,
first responders who serve and protect the flying public each
and every day.
Not only does the flight attendant profession
transport and protect a population the size of the city of
Chicago each day, it
forms the backbone of the transportation infrastructure that
makes all things possible in our national and indeed in our
global economy. This Friday, September 11, I hope you will join
me in rededicating our work to advancing the health, safety and
security of our profession to the memory of our colleagues who
gave their lives in the line of service.
In
solidarity,
Pat
Friend
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 Honoring
Our Heroes...
The United MEC has listed
September 11 Remembrance Services and Gatherings taking place
around the country on their website at www.UnitedAFA.org. Click
here to view the
list.
America West/US Airways
Council 66 will be holding a  memorial
service on the shore of Tempe Town Lake west of the main
amphitheater on September 11th at 6 PM. For more
information, please click
here.
Remembering
Our Colleagues...
A Fort Pierce, Florida
post office was dedicated in memory of United flight attendant
CeeCee Ross Lyles on February 17, 2009. The heroic flight
attendant lost her life in the line of duty onboard United
Airlines Flight 93 on September 11, 2001. Congress passed a
resolution in 2008, sponsored by Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) and
Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), which designated the local U.S.
postal facility to be named in honor of Lyles. In 2003, Fort
Pierce erected a bronze statue in Liberty Garden in Veteran's
Memorial Park to memorialize the United flight attendant and
Fort Pierce native. United MEC Vice President Linda Farrow
attended the February dedication.
--------------------------------------
OPPORTUNITIES &
SERVICES
Learn to Run for
Public Office and Win with Emerge America: Apply
Now
With the goal of increasing the number
of Democratic women in public office, Emerge America is a
training program that inspires and equips women with the skills
and strategies needed to run for elective office and to win.
Since its inception in 2002, 376 women have graduated from
Emerge America programs, including several AFA-CWA members.
Among those graduates is Valerie Walker, United Flight Attendant
and former MEC Safety, Health & Security Chair. Valerie
cites her union involvement as her first lesson in creating
positive change through collective action. On leave in her home
state of Arizona, she missed her former involvement with
grassroots legislative issues and applied to Emerge Arizona.
"I've quickly learned what's going on in local
government, who's making things happen and where when I'm needed
to help effect change," said Valerie. "I have met 30 fascinating
women, my classmates, who I know will be there for me when it's
my turn to run for public office."
The program will
expand to a total of 10 states in 2010 with a goal of launching
affiliates in all 50 states. Application deadlines are
approaching in many states so please visit www.EmergeAmerica.org
for more information.
Along with several other prominent
women leaders, AFA-CWA International President Pat Friend is a
member of the Emerge America Advisory Board.
Discounted
Eldercare Services for Union Members
Do you
need help making decisions about how to care for an aging
parent? One of the many advantages of union membership is the
AFL-CIO's Union Plus program which, among a multitude of
services, offers eldercare services through Aging With
Grace™. This program offers union members discounted
services, information, caregiver support, links to preferred
providers, an online member caregiver support group and a free
initial phone consultation. Aging with Grace™, works with
labor unions and their active and retired members to address the
important decisions, and stresses, involved in elder caregiving.
For more information, click here. http://www.unionplus.org/elder-care
______________________________________________
Please visit www.afanet.org for updated
information on how AFA-CWA is working for you and for links to
other useful sites for working families.
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA | 501 3rd
Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
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