Flight Attendants at New United Airlines Are Excited to Be Unified in the Association of Flight Attendants

National Mediation Board Today Mails Ballots to Nearly 25,000 Flight Attendants

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the voting process begins for nearly 25,000 United, Continental and Continental Micronesia Flight Attendants in an election to determine union representation.  Voting instructions were mailed by the National Mediation Board (NMB) today and Flight Attendants at the new United Airlines are excited to be unified in the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA) in just six weeks when the voting results are announced on June 29, 2011.

"Today is an exciting day for Flight Attendants at the new United Airlines and throughout our Flight Attendant union," said Veda Shook, AFA International President. "Our union's first priority is to unite all Flight Attendants.  Flight Attendants are extraordinary people and our work is unique.  Our union is not just the largest Flight Attendant union, we are respected for our experience and expertise in all issues related to our work.  We've heard from Flight Attendants from across the new United – 'the same things that make us proud to be Flight Attendants make us proud to vote for AFA.'"

"This is an historic moment in our careers," stated Greg Davidowitch, AFA president at United Airlines.  "Flight Attendants from United, Continental and Continental Micronesia are happy that we will soon be together in a single energized workforce. AFA is uniquely positioned to advance the priorities of Flight Attendants.  There is no conflict of interest and no organizational or institutional agenda that competes for our interest in representation. United is evolving, and AFA is excited to evolve along with it, representing today's Flight Attendant and ensuring we actively participate in the process for the benefit of Flight Attendants."

The representation election is not a vote for a contract. All three contracts currently in effect remain in place after the election. The best contract provisions of each contract – United, Continental and Continental Micronesia – provide the floor for negotiations on a single contract.  AFA negotiates based on the priorities set by Flight Attendants through surveys, meetings and direct member feedback to elected Flight Attendant leaders.

"Sixty-six years ago the founders of our union organized what would become AFA, the leading voice for Flight Attendants," stated Sara Nelson, AFA International Vice President. "Those brave women and the thousands who joined them fought against discrimination and sexism, against low pay and horrific working conditions; and they fought for greater safety and security for both crewmembers and passengers. Today, all women and men with the heart of a Flight Attendant may do our work and call our profession a career.  AFA has taken us from 'sky girls' to safety professionals and first responders.  Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendants, our union has decades of experience and the determination to represent today's Flight Attendant.  Together we are the strong voice for our profession."

For over 65 years, the Association of Flight Attendants has been the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill.  Nearly 50,000 Flight Attendants at 21 airlines come together to form AFA, 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.afacwa.org.

SOURCE Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO