4.24.24 – APFA PHX Base Brief – Contract ACTION Team Update

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Will I see you at the picket on May 9th from 8 am to 10 am? As you may have read in Negotiations Update #52, the National Mediation Board set an intensive bargaining schedule, with our negotiators meeting in federal mediation the weeks of April 29th, May 6th, and May 13th. We need a major presence at our picket lines on May 9th, right before the final set mediation date!

I understand that these working conditions have been discouraging for all of us. However, it’s important to remember why we keep picketing. We do it to demonstrate to the company, the national mediators, and the media that we are resilient. We will not give up! Your continued support is invaluable in this.

These are not only picket events. We are all training on these picket lines. We are training to strike! Strikes don’t simply happen. They are coordinated and strategic. Every picket that we do shows the company that we are strong and united, but it also allows your CAT team to learn from the action so we can prepare for what our lines will be like if we are released to strike. For now, we are exercising our collective power, communication, and coordination. One day, we may need to prepare our community and union affiliates to help us hold the line and shut down the airline.

So, when our colleagues ask why another picket, I hope you will help me reiterate how important these are for us to prepare for the next steps.

These are the things that I need us to all do:

1. Call and email our representatives in Congress every day!
2. Wear your pins, bag tags, and lanyards on every trip!
3. Show up to each picket fired up!

Please message me if you are interested in volunteering for a role at the picket. I will let you know the available roles and responsibilities.

In Solidarity,

Alana Billingsley
APFA PHX Contract ACTION Team Representative
[email protected]

Robin Agee
APFA PHX Base President
480-238-2303
[email protected]

Secorra Flowers
APFA PHX Base Vice President
602-551-8116
[email protected]