Welcome to Your AFA!
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| Greg Davidowitch MEC President Message to New Hires > |
Welcome to the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA-CWA). You have joined the world’s largest Union of Flight Attendants, representing 40,000 Flight Attendants at 21 carriers within the 700,000 Member Union, the Communications Workers of America. AFA-CWA Membership also entitles you to the benefits enjoyed by some 13 million working men and women who comprise the AFL-CIO.
Seeking a voice in their workplace, six visionary women founded AFA-CWA 60 years ago. AFA’s first Contract, ratified in 1946, sought to establish hours of work, seniority rights, improve working conditions, set rates of compensation, and develop procedures for the orderly and fair settlement of workplace disputes. Today, AFA-CWA Contracts are the product of 60 years of bargaining. We continually fight to preserve and improve our hard won job protections, work rules, benefits and retirement security.
AFA is your voice in the workplace and beyond. It is your participation that makes our Union a success. AFA maintains a broad-based legal staff to protect the gains won over the decades at the bargaining table; seeks improvements for our safety and health; testifies before Congress and maintains regular contact with lawmakers on issues directly affecting Flight Attendants’ working conditions; spreads AFA’s message through daily contact with the media; and maintains a peer referral network of counselors through its Employee Assistance Program.
Through the years, AFA has won substantial victories over discriminatory barriers which limited the professional lives of Flight Attendants. Today, men and women, married or single, with or without children, call this profession their own. Flight Attendants have earned respect and admiration through their dedicated service to the public and their proven record as safety professionals.
We are proud of our strong AFA-CWA heritage at United. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO is effective because Members like you make it work. AFA-CWA depends on the new ideas and creative energy of Members like you. Every Member has a chance to voice his or her opinions through a democratic process. Join your Local Council Officers and flying partners at the next Union meeting. It’s a great opportunity to meet one another, become familiar with our democratic system and improve our Union, working conditions, and future. Become an AFA activist to be an integral part of our continued success.
Finally, we proudly wear our Union pins because we care about one another and believe in working together. Come work with us to secure a better future.