Aviation Workers Launch Public Campaign Demanding a Stop to Stock Buybacks in Aviation Until Problems Are Fixed

CWA, AFA-CWA, Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), and several other unions representing hundreds of thousands of aviation workers, launched a public campaign demanding that airlines pledge to stabilize the industry with reliable operations and good jobs before diverting any airline profits to Wall Street through stock buybacks.

“Stock buybacks don’t help families reach their destinations safely or ensure that flights are on time, but airline workers do. Every dollar that goes toward stock buybacks is a dollar that could have been used to reduce disruption by addressing understaffing, high turnover, excess overtime, and low starting wages," said Richard Honeycutt, Vice President of CWA District 3 and Chair of CWA's Passenger Service Airline Council.

“We paused the greed in aviation for a little while with legislative constraints tied to COVID relief,” said AFA-CWA President Sara Nelson. “But the greed that ran rampant before COVID created a system that was already stretched thin with minimum staffing and high overtime hours. We can’t allow executives to send one dime to Wall Street before they fix operational issues and conclude contract negotiations that will ensure pay and benefits keep and attract people to aviation jobs.”

Click here to add your name to a petition demanding that the CEOs of U.S. airlines pledge to extend the COVID relief ban on stock buybacks until operational meltdowns and staffing shortages are fixed and outstanding labor contract negotiations are settled.