Current Media Releases

For Immediate Release: March 20, 2013
                                                                                            

Coalition Of Flight Attendant Unions Enlists Airline Passengers In No Knife Fight

On Thursday, March 21, Flight Attendants Begin a Series of Leafleting Events around the Country Asking Passengers to Take Action Against Knives on Planes

Washington, DC – The Coalition of Flight Attendant Unions, representing 90,000 Flight Attendants, will tomorrow begin a series of leafleting events at airports around the country to directly enlist passengers in the fight to keep knives out of the aircraft cabin. Leaflets encourage passengers to sign the petition to the White House at www.NoKnivesOnPlanes.com and call members of Congress to support legislation to overturn TSA Administrator Pistole’s abrupt policy change.

The leaflet says:

The new rule does not make sense for combating potential terrorist attacks nor the daily disturbances we handle by de-escalating conflicts or asking passengers to help us contain problems. Aircraft cabins are fuller than ever and Flight Attendant staffing has been cut. Introducing knives and other weapons into these situations makes our job harder and everyone in the cabin less safe.

It makes no sense to choose between guarding against a hostile take-over attempt and an explosive device. We need to ensure air travel is secured against all threats to our safety and security.

We believe the millions who travel expect to arrive safely - and it’s our job to ensure it. Join us in opposition to this short-sighted, dangerous change to aviation security.

On Thursday, March 21, Flight Attendants from across the country will be enlisting the traveling public to help keep U.S. aviation the safest and most secure in the world.

Airport Leafleting and Local Times for Thursday, March 21:

Air Marshals, Pilots, Transportation Security Officers and airline CEOs agree with Flight Attendants. The people on the front lines of aviation security know this is a bad idea.

Media Contacts: Corey Caldwell, AFA-CWA, ccaldwell@cwa-union.org ; Jamie Horwitz, TWU, media@twu.org ; Leslie Mayo, APFA, communications@apfa.org ; James Carlson, IAM, jcarlson@iamaw.org ; David White, IBT,  dwhite@teamster.org.

The Coalition of Flight Attendant Unions coordinates on issues of mutual interest to Flight Attendants. Members of the Coalition are the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, Association of Professional Flight Attendants, Transport Workers Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.