Association of Professional Flight Attendants Represents 27,000 Flight Attendants Working For American Airlines

For the 27,000 flight attendants of American Airlines, July 2 may be as significant as Labor Day this year. Newly elected officers of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) officially begin their terms, welcoming a new National President and National Officers to lead its membership forward on improving contracts and issues that affect the work environment and quality of life of its members.

Lori Bassani, a 32-year veteran American Airlines flight attendant based in Los Angeles, was elected by a commanding mandate in a race among seven union presidential hopefuls. Officers were elected by the Union’s membership in a special election overseen by the U. S. Department of Labor. The term runs through March of 2020.

Joining Bassani, three other National Officers round out the new team:
Liz Geiss, a 30-year veteran of the airline based in Dallas, was elected to lead the Union’s grievance department and will serve as National Vice President
Lisabeth Hillman, a 32-year flight attendant from the Los Angeles base, will serve as the union’s National Secretary
Craig Gunter, a 30-year Boston flight attendant, will serve as National Treasurer

“My team and I are proud to serve all 27,000 of our members in one of the most challenging yet promising times in the history of our profession,” said Bassani. “We are emerging from a traumatic string of bankruptcies, givebacks, and industry restructuring. Our first order of business is to unify our members to set the stage for successful contract negotiations.” Section 6 bargaining may begin as early as December of this year.

Bassani added, “We are also facing unprecedented and monumental changes in scheduling and a new bidding system in a bankruptcy-negotiated contract. The APFA membership is comprised of flight attendants from almost 20 different airlines.”

This includes American Airlines most recent merger with US Airways and US Airways merger with America West prior to American Airlines. Full operational integration of the flight attendants is slated for Fall 2018, when flight attendants will be able to transfer into each others’ domiciles and work under one collective bargaining agreement. Currently, the legacy US Airways and legacy American Airlines Flight Attendants work under different contracts and remain in separate operations.

“It’s paramount that the company provides the best preferential bidding system (PBS) for all our members. Holding the company accountable for scheduling systems that impact flexibility and daily work lives of flight attendants is of primary importance,“ said Bassani.

Bassani also believes addressing health concerns, including rest minimums, toxic uniforms, and exposure to fumes and radiation revealed in recent health studies will also be important on the new officers’ agenda.

(Source: AFPA news release)

FMI: www.afpa.org