Flight Attendants OccuFLY LAX to Protest Greed, Attack on Workers' Rights

Over 400 AFA-CWA and union activists hold an OccuFLY demonstration at Los Angeles Intl. Airport to protest the attack on airline workers’ rights and corporate greed.

Chanting, "It's not just about first class, it's about the middle class," more than 400 AFA-CWA Flight Attendants from 20 airlines and activists from Los Angeles area unions turned out for an "OccuFLY" demonstration at Los Angeles International Airport this week.

AFA-CWA delegates attended the union's Board of Directors' meeting this week in Los Angeles in conjunction with the OccuFLY event. CWA President Larry Cohen, Secretary-Treasurer Annie Hill, and CWA District 9 Vice President Jim Weitkamp joined in the rally alongside Flight Attendants and other airline workers at LAX, plus activists from LA Union, the Los Angeles Federation of Labor; CWA; NABET-CWA; UNITEHERE; Teamsters and others.

Activists protested the attack on airline workers' collective bargaining rights inserted in the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization and passed by the House and Senate over the strong objection of CWA, AFA-CWA and 17 other unions. The demonstration also targeted corporate greed and excessive corporate compensation.

Maria Elena Durazo, LA Union's executive secretary-treasurer, said airport worker union groups, inspired by OccuFLY, and those who have taken a stand for social and economic justice, have formed the first ever LAX Labor Alliance to support collective bargaining rights and building opportunities for all Americans.

"The FAA reauthorization should be focused on addressing the pressing safety issues that will ensure that the U.S. aviation system remains the safest in the world. Instead, Congress has used this process to gratuitously attack American workers in order to satisfy corporate executives," said Veda Shook, AFA International President. "This controversial labor provision is nothing less than an attack by the 1% against the 99%. We saw it in Wisconsin and Ohio, now we see it for airline and rail workers who are simply seeking the benefits of collective bargaining or fighting to hang on to collective bargaining rights."