Flight attendants at American Airlines, represented by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), have launched a campaign with the dual purpose of enlisting public support for their efforts to achieve a fair labor agreement with their airline; and highlighting what APFA cites as "the growing challenges facing air travel – such as the reduction in flight schedules, increasingly crowded planes, additional charges for food and beverages, and no blankets or pillows."The campaign is dubbed PAX for PAX – PAX meaning both the Latin word for ‘peace’ and an airline abbreviation for ‘passengers’. American Airlines flight attendants see their PAX for PAX campaign as mutually benefiting themselves and their passengers, saying, "While we endeavor to bring peace to your time in our plane's cabins, we ask you to help us bring economic peace to our working lives."
As part of the campaign, flight attendants will demonstrate to protest chaotic air travel for passengers and highlight their own poor working conditions. Tomorrow, October 11, 2008, the flight attendants will hand out informational flyers and travel pillows at Dallas-Ft.Worth International, Miami International, New York-LaGuardia and Los Angeles International airports.
The travel pillows are imprinted with www.paxforpax.com – the website promoting the ‘Peace for Passengers’ campaign. The following message will be included with each pillow:
We hope this pillow brings you some peace during your flight. Please show your support as we seek economic peace with a new contract. APFA is in negotiations with American to fix some of the most pressing issues facing Flight Attendants, including improving working conditions, restoring pay, and overhauling the scheduling system. Despite making sacrifices to stave off bankruptcy in 2003, our pay and benefits have been reduced by 33% while workload has increased 47%, resulting in less time with their families. Meanwhile, American Airlines executives have rewarded themselves with $366 million in bonuses over the last three years.The APFA, which represents the 18,000 flight attendants at American Airlines, notes that the campaign focuses on improving air travel for both passengers and flight attendants.
Click here for more information about the PAX for PAX campaign.
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