Twenty-five years ago today, American Airlines flight attendants went on strike for five days, crippling their airline during one of the busiest times of the year – Thanksgiving season.
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Today, on the anniversary of the strike, American Airlines flight attendants will be protesting in 15 major airports across the United States because they say they are still fighting for the same thing they went on strike about on November 18, 1993.
A press release by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants said that American Airlines flight attendants are protesting at airports to “protest oppressive work schedules, failed scheduling systems, punitive sick policy, toxic workplace, contract and seniority violations.”
“It’s unbelievable that we are here 25 years later still fighting for fair and equitable working conditions for our flight attendants. Our members chose this historic date to show their extreme dissatisfaction,” said the union’s national president, Lauri Bassani.
The protests will occur from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time for the following airports: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, Charlotte, Miami, Raleigh-Durham, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Boston, New York, Washington D.C., and Chicago.
American Airlines offered a statement to the airlines-flight-attendants-plan-to-picket.html” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>Chicago Business Journal about the protests saying:
“We have an outstanding flight attendant team that takes terrific care of our customers on every flight. There has been a tremendous amount of change for our team, and we respect their right to voice their opinion.
We will continue to work closely with our partners at the Association of Professional Flight Attendants to prioritize the needs of our 27,000 flight attendants.”
Today’s protests are not strikes but rather informational picketing. The protests are not expected to interfere with flight schedules.
