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PATRICIA A. FRIEND
International President
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO
A United Airlines flight attendant since 1966, Pat Friend is the International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO. During her twelve-(12) years in office, Friend has become a respected leader in the airline industry and throughout the labor movement.
 Following the September 11 terrorist attacks, Friend was appointed by Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta to serve on the DOT Rapid Response Team for Aircraft Security, a group of industry experts assembled to recommend aircraft security improvements. Since then, she has tirelessly lobbied Congress, the Federal Aviation Administration and the public for their support of more stringent security measures.
Under Friend’s leadership, AFA-CWA has fought for and won whistleblower protections for aviation employees, increased penalties for passengers who interfere with crewmember duties, a smoking ban on international flights, and opened the door for occupational safety and health protections for all flight attendants.
Elected to her first four-year term as International President, Friend assumed leadership of AFA-CWA in January 1995. She began her fourth term as International President on January 1, 2007.
Friend’s ability to represent AFA-CWA’s diverse group of working women and men stems from her 41 years of flying and vast experience in all aspects of the labor movement. Today, AFA-CWA represents 55,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, making it the largest flight attendant union in the world.
As a result of the merger between AFA-CWA and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in 2003, Friend serves as a CWA Vice President. In that capacity, she is a member of several CWA Executive Board committees, including Education, Legislative, Political, Health and Safety, the New Economy Workers Committee, Information and Technology Committee and the International Committee.
In addition to her role as AFA-CWA’s President, Friend is one of eight women on the 47-member AFL-CIO Executive Council. As an AFL-CIO Executive Council member, she presides as Chair of the Public Affairs Committee. She also the Secretary-Treasurer of the Transportation Trades Department. In addition, she serves on a number of other AFL-CIO committees, including the Executive Council Committee on Diversity, the Legislative/Public Policy, Women Workers, Organizing, Strategic Approaches, International Affairs, Subcommittee on Independent Union Raiding, Appeals Committee, the Committee on Ethical Practices and the Committee on Finance. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for Working America, an affiliate organization of the AFL-CIO, and has been appointed as a member to the National Labor College’s Board of Trustees. Friend currently serves on the Board for the National Endowment for Democracy.
In May 2007, Pat joined the Advisory Board of Directors of Emerge America, a nationwide organization designed to recruit, educate and inspire talented and diverse Democratic women who want to pursue elective office at the local, state and national levels.
An international union leader, Friend continues to promote the interests of flight attendants by her participation on various committees of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), which represents more than 5 million transport workers worldwide. She is the Chair of the Cabin Crew Committee, the representative to the ITF ICAO cabin safety training manual working group, plays an active role on the Women’s Committee and is the women’s representative on the North American Executive Board. Friend additionally serves as a representative of the Women’s Committee of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
Friend also received an appointment to the Board of Voices for Working Families, a nonprofit organization created to ensure that everyone in this country can participate fully in America’s political life.
Born in the Midwest and raised in Oklahoma, Friend is based in Washington, D.C., where she remains on the United Airlines seniority list as a member of the international flight crew at Dulles International Airport.
VEDA SHOOK
International Vice President
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO
On a platform of experience, dedication and enthusiasm, 18-year Alaska Airlines Flight Attendant Veda Shook was elected to represent AFA-CWA members as International Vice President at the 2006 Board of Directors meeting. In her extensive experience as an activist and leader, her transition to the International Office has been seamless in her advocacy role for all flight attendants. Veda believes that AFA-CWA-CWA contracts are the foundation of the union and has pledged to promote successful contract bargaining and enforcement. Veda has also pledged to work with the leadership to build grassroots support for AFA-CWA among existing members and for flight attendants not currently represented by AFA-CWA. She is motivated in her work by the belief that all flight attendants deserve AFA-CWA representation.
Veda’s energetic leadership and involvement in virtually every aspect of unionism have contributed to her success in her current position as AFA-CWA International Vice President. Since January 2007, Veda has led three successful organizing campaigns at Lynx Aviation, Ryan International and USA3000, and currently oversees the Delta/NWA election campaign. She has concurrently managed the team of International Staff Representatives, who carry out the union’s leadership training and internal mobilizing work, including helping to develop the skills of member volunteers as they transition to new roles as member leaders and activists, and providing guidance and training to elected union leaders. Veda continues her commitment to engaged, hands-on leadership by participating directly in her union’s organizing, mobilization and training work in the field.
As Alaska Airlines MEC president, Veda initiated successful programs to promote volunteerism and diversity in the ranks of Alaska flight attendants, and negotiated an industry leading agreement for her members.
Veda has served AFA-CWA in many capacities, including:
• Alaska Airlines MEC President & AFA-CWA Executive Board
• Alaska Airlines LEC 39 Founding President, PDX, & AFA-CWA Board of Directors
• Strategic Planning Committee
• Organizing Committee
• Negotiating Committee
• Appeal Board
• System Board
• Retirement Committee
• Flight Attendant Marketers Committee
• Cultural Awareness Committee
• Safety & Health Committee
• Legislative Affairs Committee
Veda’s successful leadership record is founded in her dedication to being a team player. She cites the successful CWA Triangle model of bargaining, mobilizing/organizing and political/community involvement, as the foundation for the continued success of AFA-CWA in making the most of the flight attendant profession. To that end, Veda continues her visible leadership, by meeting with leaders and members in the field and encourages open dialogue between AFA-CWA members, leaders and staff.
"We need to have an engaged membership and I will continually emphasize opportunities to make our union more relevant to flight attendants."
Additionally, as a flight attendant from a mid-sized carrier, Veda brings a valuable perspective to the International union level that will benefit AFA-CWA as we look toward the future of the flight attendant profession in a continually changing industry.
Kevin Creighan
International Secretary-Treasurer
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO
Kevin Creighan, United LEC 7 President, London, was appointed as Acting AFA-CWA Secretary-Treasurer at the Board of Directors meeting in October, 2005.
Creighan pledged to take on the responsibility of sorting out the technical difficulties that remain in the AFA-CWA merger process - details that are inherent in merging two different accounting and membership systems. Given his skills and experience both in the field and in the union, he is uniquely qualified to determine how the International office can best meet membership needs. He noted that, in terms of member services, the transition has been seamless. One of Creighan's top priorities in the remaining months of his term is to resolve the challenges the merger has presented at the leadership level. He is confident that the remaining issues will soon be resolved to everyone's satisfaction.
"One very valuable aspect of the merger is that it has enabled our union to maintain and even enhance the services we provide to the membership," he noted. "We’ve continued, through airline bankruptcies, to get financial support and professional expertise to ensure that our leadership has the resources to satisfy the needs of our membership. We're part of an organization that is fully supportive of our goals." |
