11.30.20 – #ExtendPSP Update

Monday, November 30, 2020

Hello Everyone,

On October 1st of this year, 7,985 American Airlines Flight Attendants, 19,000 total American Airlines employees, and thousands more workers across the industry lost their jobs and healthcare amid a worldwide pandemic. In July, it became evident that travel demand was not going to return as quickly as planned, and Unions across the country began advocating for an extension to the successful Payroll Support Program (PSP) to keep all aviation workers connected to pay and healthcare.

Today, we continue to push our elected officials to produce a stimulus bill for all Americans, including an extension of the PSP. Flight Attendants have made thousands of calls and tweets to their representatives, showed up at rally events across the country, and shared their stories with the media. Today, our Government Affairs department released a comprehensive ‘Week of Action’ hotline with different government contacts each day this week. While it may seem like these calls fall on deaf ears, the volume of calls garners attention from your elected officials.

APFA continues to be in contact with Senators and Representatives offices across the country. This morning, I had a call with Robert Edmonson, Chief of Staff to Nancy Pelosi. We talked about pay and healthcare loss for our furloughed members and reiterated that it takes time to return crew members to active status. American and other carriers will play an integral part in moving vaccines worldwide, and without adequate staffing, this may prove challenging. We need to be able to reactivate our idle aircraft, and we need to be looking down the road and around the corner to prevent staffing shortages. I made it clear that relief needs to be immediate, and the 116th Congress has precious little time to make this happen.

For now, please continue to contact your Senators and Representatives here:

Contact Your Senators and Representatives

Tweet your Senators and Representatives

We will continue to work alongside Labor Unions across the country to secure relief for furloughed members and support an overall stimulus package for all Americans. Whether you are furloughed, on a leave, or actively flying, thank you for taking the time out of your day to contact your elected officials frequently.

Please take care of yourselves, each other, and fly safely.

In Solidarity,

Julie Hedrick
APFA National President
[email protected]

Please remember, we have 7,985 involuntarily furloughed Flight Attendants at American Airlines.