WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) today was awarded a three-year educational grant by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in order to create a model flight attendant substance abuse recovery program.  This program, which will be made available to all flight attendants regardless of employer or union affiliation, will provide individuals and their workplaces with expanded education and coordination regarding substance abuse prevention, identification and recovery support services.    

"This grant will put in place a program that will provide flight attendants an opportunity to preserve their careers after overcoming substance abuse," said Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President. "A Return to the Cabin program that this grant provides is a cooperative one that involves key representatives from labor, management and government. By working together, we can protect the safety-sensitive nature of the industry, while also providing flight attendants quality substance abuse treatment and the possibility to return to their career."

Collaborative efforts by the AFA-CWA Government Affairs and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Departments were successful in securing the grant resources similar to those offered to commercial pilots through the Human Intervention Motivation Study (HIMS), which has helped over 3,500 pilots return to their career after rehabilitation.

The grant will provide the funding necessary to identify and create best practices for flight attendant substance abuse prevention, early intervention and rehabilitation. The program also provides for educational materials and services, as well as conducting research on the effectiveness of these services.  While this program does not require an employer to offer rehabilitation to flight attendants who test positive for drugs or alcohol, it does create a forum and the opportunity to demonstrate the value of such an offering.

For over 60 years, the Association of Flight Attendants has been serving as the voice for flight attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill.  More than 50,000 flight attendants at 22 airlines come together to form AFA-CWA, the world's largest flight attendant union. AFA is part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afanet.org. 

SOURCE Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA)

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