US flight attendants unite to reinforce worker protection

17 April 2009

A coalition of US flight attendants’ unions is developing common strategies to ensure that their members’ rights are protected in the current economic climate.

Some 20 US flight attendants’ union representatives met last week at the International Association of Machinists’ (IAM) William W Winpisinger Education and Technology Centre in Hollywood, Maryland. The coalition, which meets quarterly, discussed a range of topics including ways of developing a common approach to tackling key issues such as legislation, health and safety and collective bargaining. These issues are particularly important as workers’ jobs and conditions are at risk of being undermined in the face of an increasing number of bankruptcies and mergers in the industry.

“Flight attendants operate in a unique and demanding work environment,” said IAM general vice president Robert Roach, Jr. “The IAM continues working with the leadership of other unions to ensure all flight attendants have the legislative and collective bargaining protections they deserve.”

Pat Friend, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants said that the unions were looking for ways to ensure that certain rights were given: “What can we take off from the bargaining table so that we don’t have to bargain for a safe workplace, we don’t have to bargain for reasonable working conditions; so that we can focus on pay, benefits and a secure retirement.”

For Gabriel Mocho, ITF civil aviation section secretary, who was also present at the meeting, the federation’s role would be to support the initiative by providing information from the industry from a global perspective and spread the word about the coalition’s work. He said: “We want to tell all the unions around the world how this is working and how other unions can learn from this initiative.”