10,000 Flight Attendants at Southwest Voting on New Contract
The nearly 10,000 flight attendants at Southwest Airlines—members of Transportation Workers (TWU) Local 556—are voting on a new four-year agreement that includes a number of improvements, including pay raises.
Along with the pay raises, the tentative deal—approved by TWU Local 556’s executive board—includes a boost in 401(k) contributions and improvements in leave, flexibility and job security, among other areas and no economic concessions. Says TWU Local 556 President Thom McDaniel:
This round of negotiations was conducted with a spirit of cooperation and partnership that demonstrates the legendary culture of Southwest Airlines. Times are tough in the airline industry, but labor relations don’t have to be. At Southwest Airlines, we are at our best when we focus on solving problems instead of just winning and that’s what happened here.
Former AFA-CWA President Tabbed for NMB Post
Linda Puchala, former president of the Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), was nominated Friday by President Obama for a seat on the National Mediation Board (NMB). She currently serves as a senior mediator with the NMB and was AFA-CWA president from 1979 to 1986.
Current AFA-CWA President Patricia Friend says Puchala’s
consensus-building skills and commitment to the collective bargaining process will be a valuable addition to the agency, which is so critical to labor relations in the aviation and railway industries. There are difficult issues in front of us in both industries so we urge the Senate to move promptly to confirm Ms. Puchala so that we can look to a board functioning in every respect for guidance and assistance.
History on Air
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Last month, when first officer Stephanie Grant of Atlantic Southeast Airlines got the call to replace the co-pilot scheduled to crew Flight No. 5202 from Atlanta to Nashville, she didn’t realize she and the rest of the crew were about to make history.
But Grant, along with Capt. Rachelle Jones, both members of the Airline Pilots (ALPA), and flight attendants Diana Galloway and Robin Rogers, both members of AFA-CWA, became the first all-female, all African American crew to operate a commercial flight. Coincidentally, it happened during Black History Month.
Grant told Atlanta’s WXIA TV:
When I got to the cockpit and I saw Rachelle–we just met a few weeks prior–I was just ecstatic when I saw her in there.
At first, Rogers said:
We did not realize the historic ramifications of it. We were just like, OK, this is going to be fun.
But, Jones, a former Delta Airlines customer service agent and one of just 10 African American women airline captains in the country, recalled thinking:
This could be a first, so let’s be on our P’s and Q’s.
Galloway said the thrill of working together put:
a little more pep in our step. I think we were just so proud.
As a youngster and even into adulthood, Jones said, she never thought about a career as a pilot. It wasn’t until a friend’s suggestion several years ago that she decided she wanted fly.
Growing up, I’d never seen anyone who looks like me who flew airplanes.
Grant, whose aviation career took off in the Army, said while “fate” may have put the four women together on the same flight:
For everyone who will look at us as role models or aspire to be what we are today, they need to know that it took hard work and dedication to get here.
Capt. David Nieuwenhuis, chairman of ALPA’s Master Executive Council at Atlantic Southeast, said:
I am especially proud that this historic flight happened to take place on Atlantic Southeast. This professional flight crew sets a great example for young women, showing they can achieve their goals and dreams in the aviation sector.
A tip of the hat to our friends at ALPA for alerting us to the story. For more on African Americans and women in aviation, visit the Organization of Black Airline Pilots (OBAP) and Women in Aviation International (WAI).
Flight Attendants, Pilots, Mechanics, Stagehands and Others Join AFL-CIO Unions
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Airline pilots, flight attendants, city employees, mechanics and stagehands are the latest workers to choose a voice at work with AFL-CIO unions.
The independent National Pilots Association (NPA)—made up of the cockpit crews at AirTran Airways—has agreed to merge with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The executive board of the 1,700-pilot union approved the merger agreement last month, and ALPA endorsed the merger in December. AirTran pilots will vote on the proposal starting this month.
NPA and AirTran have been in contract talks since 2004. NPA President Mike Best says:
Our hope is that the [switch to ALPA] will give us more resources to get a better contract sooner.
