Although it was a chilly spring day, dozens of PSA Airlines flight attendants held signs and chanted outside the Dayton International Airport to demand the regional airline carrier pay them what they say they deserve.
This is the second action organized by its union flight attendants since 99.2% of its members voted to authorize a strike in September; flight attendants also picketed in December. Some of their contract demands include double digit pay increases, retroactive pay, and better retirement benefits.
PSA is a subsidiary of American Airlines, and its staff often work American-branded flights.
A spokesperson from PSA airlines told WYSO that reaching an agreement with its flight attendants remains a “priority.”
“Picketing is one of the important ways flight attendants express their desire to get a deal done — and we share the same goal,” the PSA spokesperson wrote in an email. “We continue to meet regularly with the (Association of Flight Attendants) and have made progress toward reaching an agreement that our flight attendants deserve."
This picket comes nearly two months after the American Airlines fatal airplane collision, in which 67 of its passengers were killed. That included two PSA flight attendants.
The risk has always existed, said Becky Black, PSA flight attendant and member of the negotiations team, so it's unfair that their staff are compensated differently for the same work.
“And we're never gonna forget them. What I can tell you is we are all worth more, and not just because there was an accident,” Black said.
They’ve made progress on some contract areas such as insurance, but the airline can do more, she said.
“They offered us a 5% increase in our wages, and that's absolutely insulting,” said Black. “We're definitely worth a lot more than 5%, and we do a lot more work than 5%.”
Workers say they are paid 45% less than their American Airline counterparts, although they all receive the same training. PSA flight attendants demonstrated not just at DAY, but across their other airline hubs in Charlotte, Dallas, Philadelphia and Arlington, Virginia. Roughly 2,000 flight attendants are affected by the contract.
Black has worked with PSA Airlines for 21 years, and said this is the fourth contract the union, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, negotiated with the airline.
“We have never had a management group push back and delay so much on a contract as we have now. So this is new for us,” Black said. “On the third contract, the company worked with us, gave us what we deserved. And they're not doing that this time.”
Negotiations are moving forward with oversight from the National Mediation Board, said the spokesperson.
If the union flight attendants move forward with a strike, the method they authorized in September could cause delays and cancellations in flights, according to Black.
