CHICAGO — Dennis Richter, Socialist Workers Party candidate for vice president, joined the American Airlines flight attendants rallying at O’Hare airport May 9, a highlight of his campaign visit here.
Dray Howard, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants union in Chicago, above, speaks with Richter about the issues in their fight. The 27,000 flight attendants at American, who work grueling schedules, have gone without a raise since 2019.
“I just don’t understand why they refuse to negotiate the big economic questions like wages,” Howard said. “Don’t they see that starting flight attendants live on poverty wages? Can’t they see that this isn’t fair? Why are they so greedy?”
“The big corporations are all competing against each other,” Richter told her. “This leads to every company looking to make cuts in wages and benefits, with layoffs and speedup. That’s why your fight is so important. Everyone is fighting for the same things, no matter what industry it is.
“I think you have to look at the world,” the SWP candidate added. “There is more competition between the bosses internationally. It’s leading to more wars, like the war in Ukraine for independence against Moscow’s invasion, and the war in the Middle East. I think that we need to support the right of the state of Israel to exist. It is the only country that has offered refuge for Jews, who are facing more and more Jew-hatred around the world. Hamas has to be defeated so that Israel can survive. These are important questions for the working class in this country.”