Flight Attendants Approve Merger with CWA

Members of the Association of Flight Attendants have approved a merger with CWA, voting to join forces to strengthen flight attendants' jobs and security as well as bolster organizing efforts in the airline industry.

The merger, which takes effect Dec. 31, was approved by 57 percent of voting AFA members.

CWA President Morton Bahr called the partnership a good fit, stating: "AFA members now can call on the resources and support of the more than 700,000 members of the CWA family as we work to secure jobs and job security, quality health care and retirement security, and a voice on the job for the nation's flight attendants."

The merger, he noted, "enhances CWA's presence and expertise in the airline industry, opening up new opportunities for organizing thousands of unorganized flight attendants and passenger service agents." AFA, with a membership of 36,000 at 26 carriers, is the largest flight attendant union. CWA represents 6,000 passenger service agents at US Airways.

AFA President Pat Friend noted that the merger preserves AFA's identity and autonomy while allowing the union to draw on CWA's strength in bargaining contracts, handling grievances and raising flight attendant issues within the industry and on Capitol Hill.

"Today is a proud day in our union's history, marked with opportunities that were not available to us as a single-craft union," she said.