12.07.23 – APFA ORD Base Brief – December 2023 Update

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Justin and I first want to wish all of you a Happy and Safe Holiday Season. When we watch holiday movies and series, we often see happy families and the joy the holidays can bring. In our roles as Flight Attendants, we may not be with our families and friends. It may be a stressful or sad time for us. Let’s face it, we all know that this can sometimes be a lonely time. Please know that you are not alone.

• APFA EAP 833-214-2002
• AA EAP 833-721-2322
• WINGS Foundation 817-571-7083

Take care of your physical health, your financial health, and your mental health. Most importantly, let’s take the time to listen to one another. We work together, we layover together. We must also support and care for one another.

We have recently lost colleagues and friends. Some of us are still reeling from those losses. It is all but impossible to walk into Ops and pass pictures in frames of those who have passed away and not break down. To be blunt, this company has royally dropped the ball on how they have handled FA illnesses and deaths while on company time. It breaks our hearts to leave our crew members behind because the Company is more concerned about a flight leaving on time than allowing us to remain. The way we are treated is appalling and unacceptable! We are human beings, not employee numbers! Know that your APFA National Officers as well as your elected Base leadership are not sitting idlily by and neither should you.

What can you do? Our APFA Holiday Card Campaign will soon begin. Holiday Cards will be available for you to fill out and send to upper management. Those cards will be available in person from our Contract ACTION Team (CAT) members and online. More information will be forthcoming. Keep abreast of the APFA Hotlines and Base Briefs. Remember to get your family and friends involved. They can send in those cards, too.

For those of you who feel more comfortable in front of the camera, your opportunity has come! We are looking for FA testimonials. Tell your story of financial hardship and the struggles you face living under wages negotiated in 2014. https://www.apfa.org/stories

And those campaigns are just for December. Just wait to see what is coming for January.

This brief is not meant to be a somber tone. This Chicago base is a family. That family extends out to our families. If one of us has fallen, the tether is not broken. We are still here to support and care when the need arises. We are better together. Do not be afraid to ask for help and do not be afraid to help when someone asks.

The New Year is full of promise and the dreams of good things to come.