American Flight Attendants Prepare For Strike
American Flight
Attendants Prepare For Strike
by Michael E. Marotta
( mercury@WELL.com )
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January 7, 2001.
Depicting American Airlines CEO Don Carty as the Grinch, attendants passed
out leaflets at Dallas-Ft. Worth Airport on December 22, 2000. Earlier
in the month, mass media news reported that their union had rejected "an
offer" from the company. How this plays out will move from news to
history in a few weeks.
Basically, the airline attendants
want more money. The issue of pay starts with the fact that base
salary for an American Airlines attendant is less than $16,000. As a corollary, the union is asking for changes
in scheduling that eliminate 23-hour on duty turn around. The third
issue is retirement. According to the union, some attendants cannot
afford to retire even after 50 years of service. The flight
attendants at American point to the company's profits ($732 million) and
want a share of the wealth they have helped to create. |
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For most passengers, a flight attendant
is a waiter or a bartender. The fact is that the flight attendant
is the last person out of the plane in the event of a forced landing.
The bottom line is that becoming a flight attendant is impossible without
memorizing a manual four inches thick. The flight attendant knows
(by heart) where the exits are, how to activate the emergency equipment
(by heart), as well has how to fix (by heart) a surprising range of cabin
malfunctions -- for all the makes and models in the fleet, MD80, B757,
or whatever the company happens to buy in the future. The flight attendant
also knows how to splint a broken arm, deliver a baby, and on American
Airlines how to operate a cardiac defibrilator.
Unlike other unionized workers, flight
attendants do not take their seniority with them. I spoke to one
American attendant who had worked for Braniff before they went bankrupt.
Coming to American meant starting over in a system where flights are assigned
or bid by seniority.
In the years 1995-2000 median individual
income in the United States was about $34,000 per year. Flight Attendant
wages start at a range of $12,000 to $18,400 annually. With several years
of experience [another source cites 'six years'], Flight Attendants can
expect to earn from $14,100 to $20,100 per annum. Top senior wages can
reach from $20,100 to $42,000 a year.
The hourly wage paid to Flight Attendants
is quite high, from $35 to $58 per flight hour, but they are customarily
contracted to work only from as little as 50 to
as many as 85 hours per month. The operative phrase is "flight hours."
Attendants are not paid between flights, though they may spend one or more
hours waiting to board. You can see them at the gates along with
passengers. If the need arises for them to fly
more often, some contracts call for time and one half. [At American
the base is 67 hours with a differential of $5 per hour
for time over 71 hours.] I spoke to an American attendant whose 12.5 hour
day included only 6.5 billable flight hours.
Many airlines offer extra compensation
on international flights to Flight Attendants who are fluent in a foreign
language. The pay differential for multilingual
Flight Attendants can range from 50 to 75 cents per hour. [At American
the differential is about double this.] However, this
proficiency is for the ability to carry out PERFORMANCE DUTIES (boarding,
safety, emergency, landing, debarking), not merely for the ability to wish
everyone a cheerful Good Morning.
Fringe benefits can include health
and life insurance, retirement plan, and paid vacation. However,
these are defined by contract usually extend to all of the employees at
an airline, with some differences. One AA attendant I talked to pays
$69 per month co-pay for single health insurance,
not outside the norms for most white collar workers, but not free, either,
and like most insurance, deductibles and
co-pays must be considered. In addition, some attendants can expense
back for lodging and food costs on layovers, as well as uniform repair
or replacement. Of course the primary benefit is the free or discount air
travel for themselves and their immediate
family members.
On the other side of the benefits
are inherent expenses. Consider uniforms. They are mandatory and flight
attendants pay for them. At some airlines, the
first uniform is issued during training and the new uniforms are the responsibility
of the attendant. At American, the
first uniforms cost $700. The company deducts a fixed amount per
paycheck to recoup the cost.
On the other hand, according to former
flight attendant and present employment agent Wendy Stafford, "...the benefits
far outweigh the challenges. ...you
will be provided with a plethora of travel discounts on other carriers,
anywhere from a 50 percent discount to 90 percent. Some even offer an annual
"freebie" on a space-available basis! I remember flying to England and
Ireland once on another carrier for the paltry fare of $40!" [However,
the current situation is for flights to be fully booked, if not overbooked.
Therefore, in reality, this perk is unlikely today, though it was common
when Stafford was a working flight
attendant.]
Stafford also points to reduced rates
on rental cars, some restaurants and tour packages. "Many courtesies are
extended to airline employees that are usually
extended only to high rolling jet setters. I once stayed in a hotel that
had biking and horseback riding trails -- free
to us -- and unlimited access to a Jacuzzi and workout room. The owners
also provided a private car for our use only to go into town and shop during
our 23-hour layover in that city." For Stafford having 10 to 15 days
off each month is a plus, not a minus.
Wendy Stafford is president and senior recruiter for Air Inflight Resources.
The majority of flight attendants
are represented by one of the following unions: Association of Flight Attendants,
Teamsters (IBT), or Air Transport Division
of the Transport Workers Union of America. Several airlines have company
unions, such as the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the
American Airlines union.
Getting hired as an attendant is
work. It is not unusual for the process to take two months.
The process involves a three hour medical exam, psychological profiling,
and lot of one-on-one talks with employment screeners. Generally,
attendants work their way up a ladder from small
and regional careers. This is the same kind of career path pilots
have -- and it precludes someone walking in off the street
and working for a major airline.
