American Airlines Union’s Cruel Twist For Ex-TWA Attendants At Iconic TWA Hotel Meeting
The American Airlines New York flight attendants base is holding an in-person meeting at the TWA Hotel and wow, does the Association of Professional Flight Attendants have a cruel sense of irony. The American Airlines flight attendants union took a boot to the throats of all ex-TWA flight attendants when that airline was acquired by American in 2001.
All @AmericanAir @APFAunity Union members, save the date. May 15th, 2024. https://t.co/3S4K4wrPT2 pic.twitter.com/RQhMcXMMrD
— Christian M. Santana (@santanAAdvocate) April 13, 2024
TWA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2001. It was the third time TWA had filed for bankruptcy. This filing coincided with the announcement of its acquisition by American Airlines. The bankruptcy was part of the plan for American Airlines acquiring the storied carrier.
And the role of bankruptcy would become important to how TWA employees would be treated. Since TWA was essentially a failed carrier, legacy American Airlines flight attendants argued that TWA crew should be ‘stapled to the bottom’ of the seniority list. That was bad for their schedules, pay, and retirement.
TWA flight attendants were represented by the Independent Federation of Flight Attendants. They were smaller in number. The majority of flight attendants were ‘sticking it to’ the minority of flight attendants. Unions often work that way, and the airline went along.
The treatment of TWA flight attendants during the integration into American Airlines following the acquisition ‘shocked the conscience’ of many observers, including legislators. It was a key factor in prompting 2007 passage of the McCaskill-Bond Amendment which now requires that in airline mergers, the integration of seniority lists must be fair and equitable, and it outlines procedures for resolving disputes regarding seniority list integrations in an effort to protect the rights and careers of airline employees in future mergers.
The US Airways acquisition gave ex-TWA flight attendants another bite at the apple, since it meant another combination of seniority lists. The way it worked was,
For legacy American:
- American Airlines flight attendants based on date of hire prior to April 10, 2001
- Then TWA flight attendants based on date of hire
- And American Airlines flight attendants hired after April 10, 2001
And US Airways flight attendants was based on date a crewmember began training (which is about the same as date of hire order).
TWA flight attendants hired in 1972 were placed behind all US Airways and American flight attendants hired before April 10, 2001.
In February 2023, TWA flight attendants finally lost at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which ruled that they weren’t entitled to seniority they’d lost in 2001.
McCaskill-Bond required that integration of seniority lists be done in a “fair and equitable manner.” Yet the judge pointed out that ironically this law “did nothing for the very group…whose misfortunes had given it life.”
