SPEEA Joins Picketing Flight Attendants at Sea-Tac

By Julia Groves, SPEEA Staff

SEATAC, Wash. – “Don’t like working for free? Neither do we!”

About a half-dozen members and staff from SPEEA, IFPTE Local 2001, joined hundreds of chanting flight attendants and cheering union activists gathered outside Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Feb. 13.

Sea-Tac was one of more than 30 airports picketed that day by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and the Transportation Workers Union, which together represent nearly 100,000 flight attendants at airlines including Alaska, American, Southwest and United.

More than two-thirds of U.S. flight attendants are in contract negotiations right now – with some having gone years without a wage increase. Calls for better contracts are loud; on Feb. 13 the AFA announced that 99% of Alaska Airlines flight attendants voted “yes” to authorize a strike.

Most flight attendants don’t start earning hourly pay until the doors of their aircraft close. The minority that are paid for boarding time, like at Delta Air Lines, are only paid half of their hourly wages. Between staying on call around the clock and the downtime spent in airports between flights, the picket line chants about working for free were more literal than most travelers would know.

Members and staff of SPEEA/IFPTE Local 2001 showed up with signs to join the picket.

“Flight attendants make the aviation industry work, just like our members,” said SPEEA Contract Administrator Peter Campbell. “In an emergency, their skills and courage can save lives. They deserve to be paid for all the time they’re working.”

The flight attendants were enthused by the turnout of unions across industries, a welcomed reminder of the labor movement’s ability to transcend. Gretchen DeMulling and Anna Peterman, longtime AFA members from American Airlines, said they felt this as they picketed alongside colleagues from other airlines.

“We are here supporting all flight attendants today,” DeMulling said. “|It’s not about who you fly for.”

Peterman, who has flown for 23 years, took in the scene with a smile. “The professional aerospace union is here!” she called behind to her counterparts.

One quipped back: “And you’re surprised?”