Amid Shorthanded Attendants, Longer Hours, and Rising Costs, Employees are Hungry For Relief

American Airlines Flight Attendants will hold a series of picketing events at 11 of their bases across the US. 

They intend to draw attention to "management's continued rejection of contract proposals that will improve American's operational reliability and Flight Attendant work life," a result of shifting factors colliding to create a number of problems for the average employee. APFA representatives note that the airline's overall flight hours have returned to pre-pandemic levels without the same number of attendants working as there were in 2019, leaving fewer employees to draw from and cover for unforeseen weather and staffing issues. That effect creates further quality of life woes for employees, requiring shorthanded crews to put in longer work days, minimal rest periods, and more frequent time-outs due to regulations that start the exacerbatory cycle anew. 

The APFA notice also draws attention to the lack of any cost of living wage increases for American Airlines flight attendants, who have gone since January 2019 without a change in pay. Worse for many of the newer ones, new employees are often "forced into high-cost cities at crew bases like Boston, Miami, and New York," making their survival all the more tenuous unless they're willing to spend free time commuting from out of state. The cost of housing, like all other sectors of the economy, has gotten even more out of hand in those metro areas, further crunching the flight attendants unfortunate enough to draw the NYC or Boston straw.

The informational picket will take place on Tuesday, November 15th, 2022 from 1100 to 1300 hrs local time at a number of American Airlines Airport Terminals.

FMI: www.apfa.org