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For Immediate Release: December 7, 2012
Contact: Corey Caldwell 202-434-0586
Spirit Flight Attendants Protest Event During Baldanza Speech
Flight Attendants and Supporters Hold Massive Demonstration at
Event Featuring Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza
Washington, DC – Spirit Airlines Flight Attendants, represented
by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), and
supporters from the Broward County labor community protested
today outside a conference where Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza was a
guest speaker. With hundreds in attendance, demonstrators called
attention to the inequities Flight Attendants experience at
Spirit Airlines.
“Spirit management’s failure to recognize the significant role
Flight Attendants play in the success of the airline cannot be
tolerated. The dedication and professionalism of Flight
Attendants and our colleagues is what makes Spirit a thriving
and vibrant airline. Yet management refuses to honor our
contributions. At this point, management is choosing a path that
leads to a strike and they have to be held accountable for their
actions, Todd St. Pierre, AFA President at Spirit.
Spirit Flight Attendants indicated repeatedly they are willing
to go to great lengths to reach an agreement. Last year, an
overwhelming 98.4 percent voted to authorize a strike should
negotiations reach an impasse. Earlier this year, AFA asked the
National Mediation Board for a proffer of arbitration, which
could result in a release to a 30-day cooling-off period and
strike deadline. That decision may come at any time.
When the NMB legally permits both parties to seek self-help and
ultimately strike, Spirit Flight Attendants will utilize AFA’s
trademarked strike strategy, CHAOS™. With CHAOS, or Create Havoc
Around Our System™, a strike could affect the entire system or a
single flight. The union decides when, where and how to strike
without notice to management or passengers.
The Association of Flight Attendants is the world’s largest
Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant
issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight
Attendant profession for 67 years. Serving as the voice for
Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in
the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight
Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working
conditions. Nearly 60,000 Flight Attendants come together to
form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications
Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at
www.afacwa.org .
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