American Airlines Is Reportedly Firing Three Times As Many Flight Attendants As Usual

When American Airlines was trying to convince flight attendants to take early retirement, using taxpayer bailout cash to fund a reduction in workforce, then-Senior Vice President Jill Surdek told cabin crew that they wouldn’t like the work if they stayed. She was talking about the schedules flight attendants would have to work, consistent with their contract and the evolving network of the airline during the pandemic.

The airline is firing three times as many cabin crew for cause as they would in a normal year according to the flight attendants union. For customers and flight attendants, this isn't bad.

The rate at which American Airlines is moving to terminate flight attendants for a variety of disciplinary issues has allegedly tripled in the last year and the union that represents crew at the Dallas Fort Worth-based airline says it is “inundated” with requests to help flight attendants facing the sack.

…Despite well-publicized staff shortages across the aviation industry, American Airlines has made no secret of the fact that managers are looking to strictly enforce a wide range of rules and policies that may have previously been allowed to slip. The flight attendant union, however, is concerned that some of its members are being moved to termination without meetings or “attempts to mitigate”.

The flight attendants union and airline are working on a new contract. They met again on August 10 and 11 to discuss scheduling more. The negotiations will take place on September 7 and 8.

The American Airlines flight attendants union is not in favor of the increased number of firings. The reasons in a case may not be valid. One Hebrew-speaking flight attendant was fired earlier this year after a Middle Eastern crew member snitched on her. There are some people who should be asked to leave in a company with over 10,000 employees.

Southwest Airlines terminates around 10 percent of its union workforce each year. The culture of the airline can be preserved by moving out the bad employees.

The majority of employees who remain don't have to pick up the slack for crew that don't pull their weight, and they don't realize that poor contributors are rewarded just as well as crew that go the extra mile. Southwest's unionized workforce presents itself as happy to be working.

AFA-CWA is trying to organize flight attendants at Delta. They are promising a pony and more money. It doesn't cost them anything to make promises. Delta's cabin crew will pay for certain things.

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The industry was shocked by Delta's decision to pay flight attendants. Flight attendants are paid a higher wage for the flight itself and don't calculate boarding time. Flight attendants don't get paid for that time. I've...

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The truth is that other flight attendants are paid based on the length of the flight. This is the way union contracts have been designed. Most flight attendants don't know that there's more than one element.

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