Workers in the Sky
A chat with Association of Flight Attendants president Sara Nelson.
Illustration by Rose Wong.
The airline industry always claims to be struggling, with unprofitable airlines asking for more generous government subsidies while trying to cut labor costs at the same time. What do you have to say to people who think organized labor is standing in the way of restructuring the industry in the interest of taxpayers and consumers?
The airline industry is struggling through this pandemic as well as the impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The difference in this crisis, as opposed to the past, is that the unions set the demands from the beginning to ensure any government relief would be payroll support to keep people connected to their jobs, health care, retirement, and paying into social programs.
We demanded that certain conditions be placed on management, too — they had to maintain service to all communities during the payroll support period, and stock buybacks were banned for one year beyond the relief, while executive compensation was capped for two years. We know what happens when corporate thieves turn a crisis into an opportunity to slash our pay, terminate our pensions, and drive the pace of work so high that we’re working the equivalent of two or three jobs for less pay than before. We made sure this crisis didn’t lead to abandoning communities or extending the unemployment lines.
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