Association of Flight Attendants
Encyclopedia
The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (commonly known as AFA) is a union
representing Flight Attendant
s in the United States. In 2011, AFA represents nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants at 24 airlines, making it the world's largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100% on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for over 65 years. The International President of AFA currently is Veda Shook
, an Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant since 1991. Since member ratification in 2004, AFA has been part of the 700,000 member Communications Workers of America
, an affiliate of the 9 million member AFL-CIO
. AFA is also an affiliate of the 5 million member International Transport Workers' Federation
.
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. AFA's “Flight Attendants as First Responders” campaign made its official debut in the summer of 2011 at DCA (Washington National Airport), promoting the message of Flight Attendants’ critical role in ensuring the safety and security of our nation’s commercial aviation system.
granted AFA a charter. Seeking to maintain services and expand its resources in the face of a massive layoff of Flight Attendants after the September 11, 2001 Attacks
, AFA members voted to merge with the Communications Workers of America, maintaining its autonomy and identity within CWA.
In May 1993, AFA Members at Seattle-based Alaska Airlines
were facing a 30-day cooling-off period after more than three years of futile negotiations, and months of mediation under the supervision of the National Mediation Board
. In the past, the company had taken a series of strikes in pursuit of its bargaining demands and seemed prepared to take another one. For years, the company had kept all of its office personnel trained as Flight Attendants just so they could be used as replacements for striking Flight Attendants. A traditional strike
clearly was doomed to fail. In 1986, thousands of TWA
Flight Attendants represented by a different union had been permanently replaced by corporate raider Carl Icahn
in a disastrous traditional strike.
Instead of a traditional strike, the Alaska Flight Attendants designed and executed a unique campaign that featured surprise tactics and intermittent strikes, called CHAOS™ (Create Havoc Around Our System). The Flight Attendants rallied around CHAOS™ as management had to deal with the fact that travelers could count on only uncertainty if they risked flying during CHAOS™. Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants won a contract they deemed fair by executing the following summary of the CHAOS™ strategy:
In June, 1993, the cooling-off period mandated by the Railway Labor Act
had expired without the parties reaching agreement in the negotiations between AFA and Alaska Airlines. Four days later Alaska Airlines management implemented its imposed work rules. For six weeks Flight Attendants were free to strike, but instead AFA sought to impact the company purely through the threat of a CHAOS strike, targeted but unannounced strike actions designed to maximize the Flight Attendants' impact while minimizing their risk.
The company paid office personnel to fly as passengers on every flight and be ready at a moments notice to jump up and perform the duties of Flight Attendants in the event the working crew initiated a CHAOS™ strike. During this time, AFA Members off duty also participated in informational picketing and other activities that included the biggest labor rally in the Seattle area for many years. These activities kept the threat of CHAOS™ in the minds of management, the media and the traveling public.
The first CHAOS™ strike took place in Seattle when three Flight Attendants walked off an Alaska Airlines flight just before passenger boarding. A notice was faxed simultaneously to the company offices announcing the CHAOS™ strike had begun on that particular flight. Twenty minutes later the union faxed a notice to the company explaining the strike was over and that the Flight Attendants offered to unconditionally return to work. Management could not decide what to do and these Flight Attendants were held out of service with pay until management simply let them return to work a few weeks later.
A month later, another crew of Flight Attendants struck the last flight out of Las Vegas
. Rather than allowing these Flight Attendants to come back to work 30 minutes later when the intermittent strike had ended, Alaska management told this crew they were "permanently replaced", much like a traditional strike. This crew was placed on a recall list which the company was required to call from before hiring "off the street" and after about 6–8 weeks each of the Flight Attendants was recalled with full seniority. During the time they were out of work, they were fully supported through AFA's CHAOS™ strike donations with the pay they would have earned working as Flight Attendants.
A few weeks later, AFA struck five flights simultaneously in the San Francisco area. Alaska management suspended these Flight Attendants and threatened to fire any other Flight Attendant who would participate in CHAOS™ strikes. This forced AFA to go to court where the union's attorneys ultimately won a preliminary injunction. In the injunction ruling the court stated the company could not threaten, discipline or fire Flight Attendants for engaging in intermittent strikes. The only permissible action the company could take would be to replace the Flight Attendants and put them on a recall list. The suspended strikers were ordered reinstated with full back pay. AFA also financially supported these strikers during the time of their suspension through the CHAOS™ strike donations.
After striking only seven flights in a period of nine months, AFA had executed the most successful strike in airline history without harming a single union member. CHAOS™ is seen as a powerful tool that is legally sanctioned and trademarked by AFA.
In the years since the Alaska Airlines CHAOS™ strike, Flight Attendants at numerous other AFA carriers have used CHAOS™ or the threat of CHAOS™ to increase their bargaining leverage and win favorable contracts. America West, AirTran
and US Airways
all settled with AFA on the eve of, or a few minutes after, the end of a 30-day cooling-off period in the 1990s. The pressure created by the threat of CHAOS™ forced management at each of those airlines to settle on terms favorable to the Flight Attendants, without a single flight ever being struck. AFA Flight Attendants at Midwest Express (now Midwest Airlines
), completed a cooling-off period without reaching agreement on a first contract in 2002. After three weeks of a CHAOS™ campaign, and on the eve of CHAOS™ strikes, management again relented on the remaining issues and agreed to terms that were ratified by the Flight Attendants. United Airlines
Flight Attendants used the threat of CHAOS™ to leverage their negotiations during the airline's bankruptcy, succeeding in doubling the value of the replacement retirement plan management had proposed.
Flight Attendants at Northwest Airlines
, locked in a vicious round of bankruptcy negotiations, deployed a CHAOS™ campaign days after joining AFA in July, 2006. Just days later union negotiators concluded a new tentative agreement with millions of dollars in improvements, but which was voted down by a narrower margin. AFA continued preparations for CHAOS™ strikes at Northwest pending the outcome of negotiations and litigation surrounding the case.
The bankruptcy court ruled in favor of the union, denying the strike injunction sought by management. But on appeal, the federal district court and the court of appeals ruled that workers under the Railway Labor Act cannot strike in response to rejection of a collective bargaining agreement in bankruptcy, effectively pre-empting the threat of CHAOS™ strikes. Northwest and AFA returned to negotiations and reached a new tentative agreement, which was narrowly ratified by the Flight Attendants on May 29, 2007. After exhausting every legal and negotiations avenue, the Flight Attendants became the last major work group at Northwest to agree to new contract terms in bankruptcy. The new contract provided Northwest with $195 million in annual cuts through 2011, and secured a $182 million equity claim for the Flight Attendants before it was lost upon the company's exit from bankruptcy.
On November 4, 2010, AFA was decertified by the National Mediation Board
as the bargaining representative for the pre-merger Northwest Airlines Flight Attendants of Delta Air Lines, after narrowly losing a representational election of the combined group the day before. AFA has filed objections to the election with the National Mediation Board
documenting hundreds of incidents of alleged interference. Those charges are pending as of January 1, 2011.
On June 29, 2011 AFA won an election for the combined workforce of approximately 24,000 Flight Attendants at United Airlines, Continental Airlines and Continental Micronesia. That election was triggered by a National Mediation Board ruling that those airlines had formed a single transportation system as a result of a corporate merger. Although AFA prevailed by a margin of more than 2,000 votes, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers filed objections to the election. Those objections are pending before the National Mediation Board.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
representing Flight Attendant
Flight attendant
Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...
s in the United States. In 2011, AFA represents nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants at 24 airlines, making it the world's largest Flight Attendant union. Focused 100% on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for over 65 years. The International President of AFA currently is Veda Shook
Veda Shook
Veda Shook is the International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO. An Alaska Airlines flight attendant since 1991, she previously served as AFA's International Vice President for a term beginning January 1, 2007...
, an Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant since 1991. Since member ratification in 2004, AFA has been part of the 700,000 member Communications Workers of America
Communications Workers of America
Communications Workers of America is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States representing about 550,000 members in both the private and public sectors. The union has 27 locals in Canada via CWA-SCA Canada representing about 8,000 members...
, an affiliate of the 9 million member AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
. AFA is also an affiliate of the 5 million member International Transport Workers' Federation
International Transport Workers' Federation
The International Transport Workers' Federation is a global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2009 the ITF had 654 member organizations in 148 countries, representing a combined membership of 4.5 million workers....
.
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. AFA's “Flight Attendants as First Responders” campaign made its official debut in the summer of 2011 at DCA (Washington National Airport), promoting the message of Flight Attendants’ critical role in ensuring the safety and security of our nation’s commercial aviation system.
History
AFA was founded in 1945 by Flight Attendants at United Airlines. The first president was Ada Brown Greenfield. The organization was originally known as Airline Stewardess Association or "ALSA". In 1949 "ALSA" merged with the Air Line Stewards and Stewardess Association, a division of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). In 1973 ALSSA Flight Attendants chose self-determination and formed an independent Association of Flight Attendants, leaving ALPA. In 1984 the AFL-CIOAFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
granted AFA a charter. Seeking to maintain services and expand its resources in the face of a massive layoff of Flight Attendants after the September 11, 2001 Attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
, AFA members voted to merge with the Communications Workers of America, maintaining its autonomy and identity within CWA.
CHAOS™
CHAOS™ is AFA's trademarked strategy of intermittent strikes designed to maximize the impact of an industrial action while minimizing the risk for striking Flight Attendants.In May 1993, AFA Members at Seattle-based Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is an airline based in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac, Washington in the United States. The airline originated in 1932 as McGee Airways. After many mergers with and acquisitions of other airlines, including Star Air Service, it became known as Alaska Airlines in 1944...
were facing a 30-day cooling-off period after more than three years of futile negotiations, and months of mediation under the supervision of the National Mediation Board
National Mediation Board
The National Mediation Board is an independent agency of the United States government that coordinates labor-management relations within the U.S...
. In the past, the company had taken a series of strikes in pursuit of its bargaining demands and seemed prepared to take another one. For years, the company had kept all of its office personnel trained as Flight Attendants just so they could be used as replacements for striking Flight Attendants. A traditional strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
clearly was doomed to fail. In 1986, thousands of TWA
Twa
The Twa are any of several hunting peoples of Africa who live interdependently with agricultural Bantu populations, and generally hold a socially subordinate position: They provide the farming population with game in exchange for agricultural products....
Flight Attendants represented by a different union had been permanently replaced by corporate raider Carl Icahn
Carl Icahn
Carl Celian Icahn is an American business magnate and investor.-Biography:Icahn was raised in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York City, where he attended Far Rockaway High School. His father was a cantor, his mother was a schoolteacher...
in a disastrous traditional strike.
Instead of a traditional strike, the Alaska Flight Attendants designed and executed a unique campaign that featured surprise tactics and intermittent strikes, called CHAOS™ (Create Havoc Around Our System). The Flight Attendants rallied around CHAOS™ as management had to deal with the fact that travelers could count on only uncertainty if they risked flying during CHAOS™. Alaska Airlines Flight Attendants won a contract they deemed fair by executing the following summary of the CHAOS™ strategy:
In June, 1993, the cooling-off period mandated by the Railway Labor Act
Railway Labor Act
The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, passed in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration and mediation for strikes as a means of resolving labor disputes...
had expired without the parties reaching agreement in the negotiations between AFA and Alaska Airlines. Four days later Alaska Airlines management implemented its imposed work rules. For six weeks Flight Attendants were free to strike, but instead AFA sought to impact the company purely through the threat of a CHAOS strike, targeted but unannounced strike actions designed to maximize the Flight Attendants' impact while minimizing their risk.
The company paid office personnel to fly as passengers on every flight and be ready at a moments notice to jump up and perform the duties of Flight Attendants in the event the working crew initiated a CHAOS™ strike. During this time, AFA Members off duty also participated in informational picketing and other activities that included the biggest labor rally in the Seattle area for many years. These activities kept the threat of CHAOS™ in the minds of management, the media and the traveling public.
The first CHAOS™ strike took place in Seattle when three Flight Attendants walked off an Alaska Airlines flight just before passenger boarding. A notice was faxed simultaneously to the company offices announcing the CHAOS™ strike had begun on that particular flight. Twenty minutes later the union faxed a notice to the company explaining the strike was over and that the Flight Attendants offered to unconditionally return to work. Management could not decide what to do and these Flight Attendants were held out of service with pay until management simply let them return to work a few weeks later.
A month later, another crew of Flight Attendants struck the last flight out of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Rather than allowing these Flight Attendants to come back to work 30 minutes later when the intermittent strike had ended, Alaska management told this crew they were "permanently replaced", much like a traditional strike. This crew was placed on a recall list which the company was required to call from before hiring "off the street" and after about 6–8 weeks each of the Flight Attendants was recalled with full seniority. During the time they were out of work, they were fully supported through AFA's CHAOS™ strike donations with the pay they would have earned working as Flight Attendants.
A few weeks later, AFA struck five flights simultaneously in the San Francisco area. Alaska management suspended these Flight Attendants and threatened to fire any other Flight Attendant who would participate in CHAOS™ strikes. This forced AFA to go to court where the union's attorneys ultimately won a preliminary injunction. In the injunction ruling the court stated the company could not threaten, discipline or fire Flight Attendants for engaging in intermittent strikes. The only permissible action the company could take would be to replace the Flight Attendants and put them on a recall list. The suspended strikers were ordered reinstated with full back pay. AFA also financially supported these strikers during the time of their suspension through the CHAOS™ strike donations.
After striking only seven flights in a period of nine months, AFA had executed the most successful strike in airline history without harming a single union member. CHAOS™ is seen as a powerful tool that is legally sanctioned and trademarked by AFA.
In the years since the Alaska Airlines CHAOS™ strike, Flight Attendants at numerous other AFA carriers have used CHAOS™ or the threat of CHAOS™ to increase their bargaining leverage and win favorable contracts. America West, AirTran
AirTran
AirTran may refer to:* AirTran Airways, a low cost airline* AirTran Holdings, an airline holding company* AirTran JetConnect, an outsourced and defunct brand operated by Air Wisconsin* Airtrans APM, an automated people mover system...
and US Airways
US Airways
US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
all settled with AFA on the eve of, or a few minutes after, the end of a 30-day cooling-off period in the 1990s. The pressure created by the threat of CHAOS™ forced management at each of those airlines to settle on terms favorable to the Flight Attendants, without a single flight ever being struck. AFA Flight Attendants at Midwest Express (now Midwest Airlines
Midwest Airlines
Midwest Airlines was a U.S.-based airline and was also an operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings based in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. operating from Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport...
), completed a cooling-off period without reaching agreement on a first contract in 2002. After three weeks of a CHAOS™ campaign, and on the eve of CHAOS™ strikes, management again relented on the remaining issues and agreed to terms that were ratified by the Flight Attendants. United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
Flight Attendants used the threat of CHAOS™ to leverage their negotiations during the airline's bankruptcy, succeeding in doubling the value of the replacement retirement plan management had proposed.
Flight Attendants at Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
, locked in a vicious round of bankruptcy negotiations, deployed a CHAOS™ campaign days after joining AFA in July, 2006. Just days later union negotiators concluded a new tentative agreement with millions of dollars in improvements, but which was voted down by a narrower margin. AFA continued preparations for CHAOS™ strikes at Northwest pending the outcome of negotiations and litigation surrounding the case.
The bankruptcy court ruled in favor of the union, denying the strike injunction sought by management. But on appeal, the federal district court and the court of appeals ruled that workers under the Railway Labor Act cannot strike in response to rejection of a collective bargaining agreement in bankruptcy, effectively pre-empting the threat of CHAOS™ strikes. Northwest and AFA returned to negotiations and reached a new tentative agreement, which was narrowly ratified by the Flight Attendants on May 29, 2007. After exhausting every legal and negotiations avenue, the Flight Attendants became the last major work group at Northwest to agree to new contract terms in bankruptcy. The new contract provided Northwest with $195 million in annual cuts through 2011, and secured a $182 million equity claim for the Flight Attendants before it was lost upon the company's exit from bankruptcy.
Airlines With AFA Flight Attendants
- Air WisconsinAir WisconsinAir Wisconsin Airlines Corporation is an airline based at Outagamie County Regional Airport in the town of Greenville, Wisconsin, United States, near Appleton. Air Wisconsin is the largest privately held regional airline in the United States...
- Alaska AirlinesAlaska AirlinesAlaska Airlines is an airline based in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac, Washington in the United States. The airline originated in 1932 as McGee Airways. After many mergers with and acquisitions of other airlines, including Star Air Service, it became known as Alaska Airlines in 1944...
- American EagleAmerican Eagle AirlinesAmerican Eagle Airlines is a brand name used by American Eagle Airlines, Inc. , based in Fort Worth, Texas, and Executive Airlines based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the operation of passenger air service as regional affiliates of American Airlines. All three airlines are wholly owned subsidiaries...
- America West
- Atlantic Southeast AirlinesAtlantic Southeast AirlinesAtlantic Southeast Airlines is an American airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier and, as of February 2010, commenced service as a United Express carrier. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc. ASA operates...
- AirTran AirwaysAirTran AirwaysAirTran Airways, a subsidiary of the Dallas, Texas-based Southwest Airlines, is an American low-cost airline headquartered in Orlando, Florida. AirTran operates over 650 daily flights , primarily in the eastern and midwestern United States...
- Compass AirlinesCompass Airlines (North America)Compass Airlines is a regional airline headquartered at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Fort Snelling, Hennepin County, Minnesota; prior to December 16, 2009, it was headquartered in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, east of the Chantilly CDP...
- Continental AirlinesContinental AirlinesContinental Airlines was a major American airline now merged with United Airlines. On May 3, 2010, Continental Airlines, Inc. and UAL, Inc. announced a merger via a stock swap, and on October 1, 2010, the merger closed and UAL changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc...
- Continental MicronesiaContinental MicronesiaContinental Micronesia, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. It operated daily flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as international services to Asia, Micronesia and Australia from its base of operations at Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport on Guam, a U.S. territory in...
- Frontier AirlinesFrontier AirlinesFrontier Airlines, Inc., is an American airline headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The carrier, which is a subsidiary and operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings, operates flights to 83 destinations throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica and maintains hubs at...
- Hawaiian AirlinesHawaiian AirlinesHawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a major airline of the United States. It is the largest airline based in the State of Hawai'i, and is the 11th largest commercial airline in the country. Based in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu, the airline operates its main hub at Honolulu International...
- HorizonHorizonThe horizon is the apparent line that separates earth from sky, the line that divides all visible directions into two categories: those that intersect the Earth's surface, and those that do not. At many locations, the true horizon is obscured by trees, buildings, mountains, etc., and the resulting...
- Lynx Aviation (United States)Lynx Aviation (United States)Lynx Aviation, Inc. was a regional airline based in Denver, Colorado, USA. The airline was a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings and operated feeder service for Frontier Airlines. The Lynx name plays off of the tail pictures of its planes, specifically Larry the Lynx, and the fact that it...
- Midwest AirlinesMidwest AirlinesMidwest Airlines was a U.S.-based airline and was also an operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings based in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. operating from Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport...
- Mesa Air
- Mesaba AirlinesMesaba AirlinesMesaba Airlines is an American regional airline based in Eagan, Minnesota. The airline operates under Mesaba Aviation, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corporation...
- Miami Air
- Omni Air InternationalOmni Air InternationalOmni Air International, Inc. is a United States charter airline with its headquarters in Hangar 19 on the grounds of Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. It operates international and domestic passenger charters, as well as wet leasing....
- Piedmont AirlinesPiedmont AirlinesPiedmont Airlines is an American regional airline operating for US Airways Express. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the US Airways Group, headquartered in unincorporated Wicomico County, Maryland, near the city of Salisbury, it conducts flight operations using De Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft...
- PSA AirlinesPSA AirlinesPSA Airlines is an American regional airline headquartered at Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio, that flies under US Airways Express brand for US Airways. PSA is wholly owned by US Airways Group. PSA has crew bases in Knoxville, Tennessee, Charlotte, North Carolina and Dayton, Ohio...
- Ryan International AirlinesRyan International AirlinesRyan International Airlines, Inc. is an American FAR 121 airline with domestic, flag, and supplemental authority.Based in Rockford, Illinois, the US Postal Service was once the airline's main customer, flying Boeing 727 aircraft on scheduled cargo flights...
- Spirit AirlinesSpirit AirlinesSpirit Airlines is a United States ultra low-cost carrier operating scheduled flights throughout the Americas. The airline is headquartered in Miramar, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. Spirit currently maintains a base in Fort Lauderdale, Florida...
- United AirlinesUnited AirlinesUnited Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
- USA3000 Airlines
- US AirwaysUS AirwaysUS Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
Organizing
In July 2006, in a contested election, Northwest Airlines Flight Attendants voted to replace their independent union with AFA.On November 4, 2010, AFA was decertified by the National Mediation Board
National Mediation Board
The National Mediation Board is an independent agency of the United States government that coordinates labor-management relations within the U.S...
as the bargaining representative for the pre-merger Northwest Airlines Flight Attendants of Delta Air Lines, after narrowly losing a representational election of the combined group the day before. AFA has filed objections to the election with the National Mediation Board
National Mediation Board
The National Mediation Board is an independent agency of the United States government that coordinates labor-management relations within the U.S...
documenting hundreds of incidents of alleged interference. Those charges are pending as of January 1, 2011.
On June 29, 2011 AFA won an election for the combined workforce of approximately 24,000 Flight Attendants at United Airlines, Continental Airlines and Continental Micronesia. That election was triggered by a National Mediation Board ruling that those airlines had formed a single transportation system as a result of a corporate merger. Although AFA prevailed by a margin of more than 2,000 votes, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers filed objections to the election. Those objections are pending before the National Mediation Board.
United Airlines
- United MEC: (MEC Website)
- Council 5: JFK (John F. Kennedy International AirportJohn F. Kennedy International AirportJohn F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
, New York City) - Council 7: LHR (London Heathrow AirportLondon Heathrow AirportLondon Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
, London, England) Affiliated with the Trades Union CongressTrades Union CongressThe Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions... - Council 8: ORD (O'Hare International AirportO'Hare International AirportChicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop...
, Chicago, Illinois) - Council 9: DEN (Denver International AirportDenver International AirportDenver International Airport , often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado. By land size, at , it is the largest international airport in the United States, and the third largest international airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport and Montréal-Mirabel...
, Denver, ColoradoDenver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
) - Council 10: SEA (Seattle-Tacoma International AirportSeattle-Tacoma International AirportThe Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , also known as Sea–Tac Airport or Sea–Tac , is an American airport located in SeaTac, Washington, at the intersections of State Routes 99 and 509 and 518, about west of Interstate 5...
, SeaTac, WashingtonSeaTac, WashingtonSeaTac is an American city in southern King County, Washington, and an outlying suburb of Seattle, Washington. Incorporated in February 1990, the City of SeaTac is ten square miles in area and has a population of 26,909 according to the 2010 census...
) - Council 11: SFO (San Francisco International AirportSan Francisco International AirportSan Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...
, San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
) - Council 12: LAX (Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
, Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
) - Council 14: HNL (Honolulu International AirportHonolulu International AirportHonolulu International Airport is the principal aviation gateway of the City & County of Honolulu and the State of Hawaii and is identified as one of the busiest airports in the United States, with traffic now exceeding 21 million passengers a year and rising.It is located in the Honolulu...
, Honolulu, HawaiiHonolulu, HawaiiHonolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
) - Council 20: FRA (Frankfurt International AirportFrankfurt International AirportFrankfurt am Main Airport , or simply Frankfurt Airport, known in German as Flughafen Frankfurt am Main or Rhein-Main-Flughafen, is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, Germany, southwest of the city centre....
, Frankfurt am MainFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany) - Council 21: DCA (Ronald Reagan Washington National AirportRonald Reagan Washington National AirportRonald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport located south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia. It is the commercial airport nearest to Washington, D.C. For many decades, it was called Washington National Airport, but this airport was renamed in 1998 to...
, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
) - Council 25: LAS (McCarran International AirportMcCarran International AirportMcCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. The airport is located five miles south of the central business district of Las Vegas, in the unincorporated area of Paradise in Clark County. It covers an area of and...
, Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
) - Council 26: HKG (Hong Kong International AirportHong Kong International AirportHong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial...
, Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
) - Council 27: BOS (Logan International AirportLogan International AirportGeneral Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
, Boston, Massachusetts) - Council 38: NRT (Narita International AirportNarita International Airportis an international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is located east of Tokyo Station and east-southeast of Narita Station in the city of Narita, and the adjacent town of Shibayama....
, Narita, ChibaNarita, Chibais a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is the site of Narita International Airport, the main international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area....
, Japan)
US Airways
- Council 41: DCA (Ronald Reagan Washington National AirportRonald Reagan Washington National AirportRonald Reagan Washington National Airport is a public airport located south of downtown Washington, D.C., in Arlington County, Virginia. It is the commercial airport nearest to Washington, D.C. For many decades, it was called Washington National Airport, but this airport was renamed in 1998 to...
, Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
) - Council 66: PHX (Phoenix Sky Harbor International AirportPhoenix Sky Harbor International AirportPhoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located southeast of the central business district of the city of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States...
, Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix, ArizonaPhoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
) - Council 70: PHL (Philadelphia International AirportPhiladelphia International AirportPhiladelphia International Airport is a major airport in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and is the largest airport in the Delaware Valley region and in Pennsylvania...
, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
) - Council 89: CLT (Charlotte/Douglas International AirportCharlotte/Douglas International AirportCharlotte Douglas International Airport is a joint civil-military public international airport located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Established in 1935 as Charlotte Municipal Airport, in 1954 the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport after former Charlotte mayor Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr...
, Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
)
American Eagle
- Council 49: SJU (Luis Muñoz Marin International AirportLuis Muñoz Marín International AirportLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located in Carolina, Puerto Rico, three miles southeast of San Juan. Over 4 million passengers board a plane at the airport per year according to FAA reports . It is owned and managed by the Puerto Rico Ports...
, Carolina, Puerto RicoCarolina, Puerto RicoCarolina is a city located in the northern part of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean; it lies north of Gurabo and Juncos; east of Trujillo Alto and San Juan; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over 12 wards plus Carolina Pueblo...
) - Council 51: ORD (O'Hare International AirportO'Hare International AirportChicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop...
, Chicago, Illinois) - Council 52: DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas, TexasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
) - Council 53: LAX (Los Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International AirportLos Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
, Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
) - Council 55: BOS (Logan International AirportLogan International AirportGeneral Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
, Boston, Massachusetts) - Council 58: LGA (LaGuardia AirportLaGuardia AirportLaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
, New York City, New York) - Council 59: MIA (Miami International AirportMiami International AirportMiami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...
, Miami, FloridaMiami, FloridaMiami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
)
Continental Airlines
- Council 62: EWR (Newark Liberty International AirportNewark Liberty International AirportNewark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
, Newark, New JerseyNewark, New JerseyNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
) - Council 63: CLE (Cleveland Hopkins International AirportCleveland Hopkins International AirportCleveland Hopkins International Airport is a public airport located nine miles southwest of the central business district of Cleveland, a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The airport lies just within the city limits of Cleveland...
, Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
) - Council 64: IAH (George Bush Intercontinental AirportGeorge Bush Intercontinental AirportGeorge Bush Intercontinental Airport, is a Class B international airport in Houston, Texas, serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Located north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and U.S. Highway 59...
, Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
)
Continental Micronesia
- Council 65: GUM (A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Tamuning, GuamTamuning, GuamTamuning, also known as Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon is a municipality or "village" located on the western shore of the island of Guam. The village of Tamuning can be viewed as the economic center of Guam, containing Tumon , Harmon Industrial Park, and commercial districts in other parts of the...
)
See also
- Communications Workers of AmericaCommunications Workers of AmericaCommunications Workers of America is the largest communications and media labor union in the United States representing about 550,000 members in both the private and public sectors. The union has 27 locals in Canada via CWA-SCA Canada representing about 8,000 members...