AFA-CWA Elects Veda Shook President; Honors Retiring Pat Friend for Lifetime Achievement

The AFA-CWA Board of Directors has elected Veda Shook as international president; she will take office when current President Patricia Friend retires Dec. 31 after 15 years of leadership. Sara Nelson was elected international vice president and Kevin Creighan was elected to a second term as international secretary-treasurer.

Shook, an 18-year Alaska Airlines flight attendant, has served as vice president since 2007 and is in charge of AFA-CWA's organizing program. Recent organizing victories include campaigns at Lynx Aviation, Ryan International and USA3000, and AFA-CWA now is working with flight attendants who want a union voice at Delta/NWA.

Nelson currently is the communications chairperson for AFA-CWA's United Airlines Master Executive Council; she has been a flight attendant for 14 years.

Creighan, who has served as secretary-treasurer since 2005, has extensive experience in accounting and membership, in addition to his work as a flight attendant and local union officer.

The AFA-CWA Board awarded Friend the Ada Brown Greenfield Lifetime Achievement Award. Named for one of the union's founders, it has only been awarded twice before.

"President Friend has been a role model and an inspiration to countless colleagues through her years of work for AFA-CWA. She serves as a living testament to the power of what we can achieve through the labor movement," the board said in a joint statement.

Friend began her career as a United flight attendant in 1966. Under her leadership, AFA-CWA's victories include whistleblower protections for aviation workers, new penalties for passengers who interfere with crewmember duties, a smoking ban on international flights, an extension of the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover flight crews and seniority protections for flight attendants in the event of a merger.