PHILADELPHIA — “What do we want? A contract! When do we want it? Now!” chanted some 35 flight attendants and their supporters at the airport here Aug. 18. Similar protests took place at PSA Airlines hubs at four other airports across the country — Charlotte, North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; Dayton, Ohio; and Dallas-Fort Worth.
Another popular chant offered support for fellow flight attendants on strike in Canada. “Any worker under attack — what do we do — stand up, fight back!” was another main chant.
The workers, members of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, are calling for a new labor contract after more than two years of stalled negotiations.
“We get 45% less pay than crews doing the same work at American. No pay for boarding passengers, only from when the door closes. And no pay for the drive to the hotel,” flight attendant Susan DuBois told the Militant. She lives in St. Louis but her home terminal is in Philadelphia. “We get 10 hours minimum rest, but after deducting travel and everything else, you may get five to six hours of actual sleep. So you see why we’re out here.”
“We’ve faced operational meltdowns, gut-wrenching tragedy, and an impossible cost of living — while American Airlines celebrates record profits,” Sean Griffin, president of the Charlotte branch of the Association of Flight Attendants at PSA, told the media. “It’s time for a real contract with real pay.” PSA is controlled by American Airlines, which maintains full control over pay and working conditions there and at other American Eagle regional carriers.
Last September PSA flight attendants voted 99.2% in favor of authorizing a strike if necessary, saying management has only proposed a single-digit wage increase — a far cry from the up to 20.5% raise won by some American Airlines’ mainline flight attendants.
The union is demanding a contract that mirrors that of American’s crews, including double-digit pay increases, boarding pay and pay retroactive to when their contract ran out, as well as improvements in schedules.
The picket drew not only flight attendants from PSA, but also from American and Frontier Airlines, as well as baggage handlers in the International Association of Machinists. Members of UNITE HERE Local 274, who are in contract negotiations with hotel bosses here, joined in.