4.28.23 – APFA Negotiating Committee Joins APFA Government Affairs On Capitol Hill

Friday, April 28, 2023

APFA Negotiating Committee Joins APFA Government Affairs on Capitol Hill

This week, your APFA Negotiating Committee and Government Affairs Department were on Capitol Hill talking to your elected representatives about the status of our contract negotiations with American Airlines. We met with all twenty Senate offices where we have crew bases, as well as all Congressional districts where more than 200 APFA members reside. These offices want to see APFA secure a strong contract because they want satisfied constituents, good jobs and fair employers in their districts.

(L to R): Lori Glattly and Allie Malis, Government Affairs; Paul Hartshorn, Jr., Communications; Kelly J. Hagan, Brian Morgan, Wendy Oswald, Negotiators; Alin Boswell, Assistant to the President; Susan Wroble and Timothy Legeros, Negotiators.

The offices were eager for updates on our negotiations and mediated talks with the National Mediation Board. Many offices were surprised to learn that we have not had a wage increase in the past four eventful years, especially considering the rising inflation. For context, the company publicly made an $8 billion offer to the Pilots. The company also announced record quarterly profits yesterday, and a 1.3% profit-sharing payout for Flight Attendants. Upper management will be receiving a “short-term incentive” payment upwards of 60% of their salary. It wasn’t so long ago that AA was the recipient of $6 billion in taxpayer dollars through the PSP and banned from bonuses/increases to executive compensation. APFA has yet to receive a pass-back on our economic proposal, which we delivered on March 7th. We Are Ready!

Rep. Colin Allred (TX-32) with APFA; Brian Morgan at Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s (PA-1) office; Kelly J. Hagan and Lori Glattly with Rep. Alma Adams (NC-12).

Staffing is another top concern we addressed with Congress. While we have returned to 2019 flying levels, we are flying it with nearly 3000 fewer Flight Attendants. This means longer days, shorter rests, and more days “on” for all of us. Our airplanes are full. We have no flexibility. We are punished when we call out sick. We are punished when we come to work sick. But short staffing also has negative repercussions on our passengers. While we cannot prevent thunderstorms or mechanicals, the company can reduce delays and cancellations with the proper staffing buffer. American Airlines is attempting to fly an aggressive schedule without the adequate staffing to recover the operation when it goes off-schedule. We are addressing this both inside and outside of negotiations. It is time to staff up our skies!

Alin Boswell, Wendy Oswald, Susan Wroble, Paul Hartshorn, Jr.

Our lobbyists asked Congress to co-sponsor the recently introduced Protection from Abusive Passengers Act (H.R. 2394/S. 1058). This legislation would require TSA to establish a federal no-fly list for passengers convicted of assaulting flight crew. No such list currently exists, so a passenger banned for misconduct on one airline could travel on an American Airlines flight. Each person on an airplane is put at risk by an abusive passenger. This behavior must end. Thank you for your calls and emails to your Senators and Representatives. Please continue to encourage them to co-sponsor this bill by clicking here because assault doesn’t fly! We’ve almost reached our goal – let’s surpass it!

Thank you to all the APFA members who participate in the APFA PAC – access to these lawmakers would not have been possible without it. If you would like APFA to continue to have this type of access throughout our contract negotiations, the FAA Reauthorization process, or anything affecting Flight Attendants in Washington, please support the APFA PAC. Click here to join the APFA PAC – it takes 30 seconds.

Timothy Legeros, Former APFA Member Brian Walsh, Brian Morgan.

In Solidarity,

Allie Malis
APFA Government Affairs Representative

Lori Glattly
APFA Government Affairs Representative

[email protected]