6.07.24 – APFA ORD Base Brief – Preparing for a Strike

Preparing for a Strike

Friday, June 7, 2024

WE NEED YOU…
To stay informed.
Stay engaged.
Stay STRONG!

By now, you have already seen or heard about the video Isom posted. The time he spent preparing that video should have been time spent negotiating ALL the economic items for a contract. We deserve the industry leading contract we have been fighting for! Do not be swayed by management’s tactics to delay negotiations even further. We deserve better.

The thought of a strike can be scary. Many questions will arise. Our APFA Strike Command Center is open to answer your questions and provide you with valuable resources. Call 806-4STRIKE to contact the Strike Command Center, or click here for more information.

Base Support During a Strike 

Chicago is a family. Family looks out for one another. If a strike is called, there will be many people worried about what that means for them. Some people may be stuck in Chicago. Some may be worried about groceries. Some may not be able to afford a ride to the strike pickets. We are all in this together! If you are willing to be called upon to help locally, please sign-up here.

We will keep this list confidential and internal. If a strike is called, we plan to have a central way of asking for assistance. This will enable us to connect with people who offered to support people in need.

Thank you in advance for looking out for each other – now more than ever, we need to stand strong and stand united.

Strike Basics

To be clear, we are preparing for a strike if we do not secure the contract we deserve. We are not yet on strike. Here’s what you can do now:

• Log into APFA.org and ensure your home address, email and phone numbers are correct with APFA.
• Download the Digital Strike Handbook. Printed Strike Handbooks will be mailed to you within the next few weeks.
• Click here to send a letter to Isom telling him, “My Union Speaks for Me!”
• Talk to one another. Share factual information. Squash any rumors. We stand together. We are unified! Our strike vote authorization of 99.47% reminds us that we stand together in this fight against corporate greed. Use your resources: 806-4 STRIKE, Base leaders, CAT (Contract ACTION Team) Members, APFA.org, the Strike Handbook.
• Please remind new hires that if we do go on strike, it is their legal right to strike, even while on probation. No one wants to be a scab.

Worldwide Day of Action

CLICK HERE TO RSVP!

Join us for the WORLDWIDE FLIGHT ATTENDANT DAY OF ACTION on June 13, 2024, 11am-1pm between T2 and T3. Now more than ever, it is crucial that we stand in solidarity with other Flight Attendants from around the country. We must show American Airlines that we are not backing down. Come wearing your red APFA t-shirts or uniforms proudly.

Wings

If you need financial assistance, please reach out to WINGS at (817) 571-7083. If you need to just speak with someone, call APFA EAP (Employee Assistance Program) at (833) 214-2002 for peer-to-peer support. Aetna EAP may be reached at (833) 721-2322. You are not alone in these stressful times.

211 – Local Support

United Way of Illinois provides support for non-emergency services and everyday needs. They can help with basic human needs, physical and mental health resources, employment support, and child/family support, just to name a few.

If a strike is called, the community has a variety of resources available to provide support. 211 Metro is an organization involved with United Way who can connect you to help you may need: food assistance, housing, utilities assistance and more. Call 211 or visit 211MetroChicago.org for services that may be beneficial to you. We will provide more information at the Worldwide Day of Action on June 13th.

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We have been without a contract for five years. Our new hires are barely surviving. This is not the dream job most of us yearned for and fought hard to achieve. We deserve retroactive compensation. We deserve incomes we can thrive on – not just scrape by paycheck to paycheck. We deserve better work rules. We deserve quality of work life/home life balance. We deserve an industry leading contract!

In Solidarity,

Dray Howard
APFA ORD Base President
(630) 215-8410
[email protected]

Justin Patterson
APFA ORD Base Vice President
(509) 720-0067
[email protected]