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Flight attendants tell bosses: Pay up!

Published Mar 23, 2005 4:12 PM

Flight attendants protested United Airlines management exploitation and worker pay cuts with a horn-blowing, fist-pumping car caravan demonstration during rush hour at JFK International Airport in New York on March 16.

The Member Engagement Committee (MEC) of Local Council 5, American Flight Attendants (AFA), mobilized the event for the same day that UAL filed its annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission, revealing huge executive bonuses.


Caravan at JFK airport,
March 16.

In a statement, the MEC said: “We planned this Caravan Against Cuts because the top five executives at United received a total of over $1.3 million in bonuses while front-line workers received pay cuts ranging from 13 to 30 percent.”

What had the bosses done to earn those big bucks? Nothing. The “success-sharing” bonus was a reward for on-time departures of aircraft and return-customer satisfaction—made possible only by the work of thousands of flight attendants.

The AFA members—who heft unwieldy bags into storage compartments, get passengers seated quickly, and push service trolleys for miles at 20,000 feet—got nothing but pay cuts from United.

For three hours, the caravan circled Terminal 7 with green CHAOS ribbons flying and signs reading “Stop management harassment” and “Pay day hurts!” The protesters ferried airport workers to and from parking lots, and received strong support and cheers from pilots, mechanics, other flight attendants, customer service and ground service workers.

Create Havoc Around Our System (CHAOS) is an innovative AFA strike tactic based on U.S. connecting flights that use a “hub-and-spoke” system. Actions taken by a few flight attendants can conceivably disrupt the entire system through a cascading effect.

The Caravan Against Cuts also got thumbs-up from a rush of passengers arriving from London, Tokyo, Los Angeles and San Francisco. A London passenger asked how he could support the struggle and was told to let attendants on his next flights know about his solidarity.

United, currently in bankruptcy proceedings, is arguing in court for steep cuts in wages and removal of worker benefits.

Michelle Quintus, Local Council 5 representative, said: “Airline companies are using the bankruptcy courts and the excuse of rising oil costs due to the war on Iraq to gut our collective bargaining agreements, airline workers’ pay and pensions. This is why it is essential that airline workers come out in protest of this blatant injustice. Airline workers will not stand by as our work rules, pay and pensions are eliminated, and corporate pockets are lined at our expense.”

Wesley Collier, chair of the MEC, described the protest as “a successful first step of many more as Council 5 turns up the heat.”

More worker struggles are ahead as U.S. airlines desperately try to find a way to make profits in an industry wracked by the cut-throat, deregulated competition of capitalism.