Flight Attendants Join Together To Lobby Against Outsourcing

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Jan 20, 2003
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For Immediate Release: November 2, 2005
Contact: Corey Caldwell 202-434-0586

Flight Attendants Join Together To Lobby Against Outsourcing

Washington, DC - Flight attendants from the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) and the Professional Flight Attendants Association (PFAA), an independent organization representing Northwest Airlines flight attendants, today joined forces on Capitol Hill to inform lawmakers of the severity that outsourcing jobs would have on the flight attendant profession.

Last month, Northwest Airlines proposed outsourcing virtually all flight attendant positions on international flights and on domestic flights on airplanes with less than 100 seats. This plan would eliminate thousands of jobs for current Northwest flight attendants. Additional impact of the proposed plan would also spread across the entire industry, affecting the flight attendant profession as a whole. Outsourcing would become a template for companies to use at future negotiations and could become an industry standard.

“Right now there is an attack on our profession and it is important that we join forces and work together to preserve our future,†said Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President. “AFA-CWA’s experience and resources will enable us to effectively spread the message that outsourcing must not become an industry standard. The lives of thousands of flight attendants are at stake and we will not idly sit by and watch this happen to our sisters and brothers, and then ourselves.â€

AFA-CWA recently extended an offer of support and resources to PFAA in their battle against Northwest management. Despite not receiving a formal acceptance of the offer, AFA-CWA committed resources to this lobbying effort and was encouraged by PFAA’s participation.

Earlier today, PFAA and Northwest brokered a deal that would allow the flight attendants to continue negotiations with the company in exchange for over $117 million in concessions.

“In light of this morning’s events with our Northwest sisters and brothers, it is even more clear that we must all work together to ensure that this assault against our profession ends here,†said Friend.

75 Years of Safety & Service: 60 Years of Unity
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the flight attendant profession and the 60th anniversary of the Association of Flight Attendants. More than 46,000 flight attendants, join together to form AFA-CWA, the world’s largest flight attendant union. AFA is part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO. Visit us at http://www.afanet.org.