TWA flight attendants press fight against union-busting

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rally of 500 in San Francisco against anti-gay "AIDS Initiative" Proposition 64. It was defeated by a huge majority on Nov. 4.

Trans World Airlines forced its 6000 flight attendants out on strike last March, after demanding a 45-percent reduction in wages and benefits and numerous work-rule changes.

The following is an interview with Marcia Halverson, a strike activist and member of the Independent Federation of Flight Attendants (IFFA), who is based in Cleveland, Ohio. The interview was conducted by Shirley Pasholk on Nov. 10, 1986.

Socialist Action: What did TWA do in preparation for your strike?

Marcia Halverson: Even prior to the strike, they were hiring and training replacements. They told these people they weren't being hired as strikebreakers, but as replacements for the 2000 flight attendants eligible for retirement.

Under our contract, you were eligible for early retirement at 45 if you had enough years of service. But most of these people were not planning on retiring early. In fact, most of our people don't retire until they're 60 or later. So, they lied to the people they hired and trained in preparation for the TWA used to have bases in Paris and Rome. They found some retired flight attendants there-people who had not flown in years—to fly during our strike and train new flight attendants.

Usually it's pretty hard to get a visa to work in the United States, but these people had no difficulty getting visas. I feel like the government gave the company a little assistance.

S.A.: What happened after you made your unconditional offer to return to work last May?

Halverson: Well, 5000 of us still don't have our jobs back. At the time we made the offer to return, 198 were called back. But TWA continued to hire new flight attendants. Of course, that's not legal. We had to take them to court.

We finally did win a decision that 463 of our people, from the top of the seniority list, should be returned to work and that the 463 flight attendants who were hired illegally after our offer to return to work should be removed. But there has been an appeal made by TWA.

S.A.: Have the strikers who returned received any harassment?

Halverson: Definitely. One very senior flight attendant was fired for wearing his union pin. It states in our contract that you can wear your union pin on your uniform. Since the company is not honoring the union grievance procedure, it's taking a very long time to even get a grievance started.

One woman, on her way to work on a flight, slept through the meal service. When she woke up, she asked if she could have a pre-wrapped sandwich. They wrote her up for interfering with the service, taking time away from other passengers, and "causing a scene" on the aircraft.

This woman has been with the company over 20 years and is a model flight attendant. She lost her pass privileges for six months-she commutes from Los Angeles to New York-and is now paying full fare to go back and forth to work.

These are just a couple of examples, but there are many more I could talk about.

S.A.: What are working conditions TWA flight attendants are still fighting campaign.

wrong, and until then we continue operating however we like."

It takes a lot of money which our union with its very small membership doesn't have. So, we've been doing a lot of fundraising just to ensure our survival as a S.A.: What about efforts to decertify the union?

Halverson: TWA is actually taking the tactic, helped by the right-to-work people, that there should be a new union. The "union" they're trying to form is called the Professional Cabin Crew Association.

They've given time off to at least one person who's going around getting signatures so they can have a new representation election. They're giving these people permission to put things in company mailboxes, to appear at briefings before flights to talk to people, and to get signatures on company property.

In the meantime, IFFA'S representatives are not allowed on the property at all. They're even being denied access to represent people at grievance hearings.

S.A.: What effect is the recent merger with Ozark going to have?

Halverson: This has yet to be determined. Right now the two companies are still operating separately. TWA maintains that "inactive" flight attendants (in other words, strikers) should not be merged. They only want the active seniority lists merged, and since the two airlines overlap on a lot of routes, there's going to be some furloughs.

S.A.: What are some of the other court actions that you're currently involved in?

Halverson: Well, our big law suit is our bad-faith-bargaining suit. This includes all the things TWA did to try to force us out on strike. This law suit has been postponed due to different appeals we've had on other law suits.

If we win the bad-faith-bargaining law Socialist Action/Joe Ryan against union-busting suit, we'll all get our jobs back. So, of course, that's what we're hoping for. We have other law suits on sex and age discrimination.

S.A.: What response are you getting to your informational pickets at the airports?

Halverson: We're still getting support from other unions. People come and picket with us. People are still donating money to us, which we need.

Even though it seems a little futile some days, I still feel like we're informing the public. When our 198 flight attendants who are back working see us, they really feel they're not out there all by themselves.

We have a big program now going on called a "boycott of conscience." We've gathered thousands of signatures from people who are refusing to fly TWA until they deal fairly with the union. Many famous people have signed our boycott—movie stars, labor leaders, even state senators.

S.A.: What are some of the conclusions you've come to as a result of this strike?

Halverson: I think that all union members have a responsibility to educate themselves about their union and about the union movement on a wider scale. And then, they should educate other people in their union and their neighbors, family, and friends.

One of the main things I think is really necessary to win any sort of strike is the solidarity of the members-to not cross the picket lines. Also, solidarity with other unions is essential.

I think as union members it's important for us not to be isolated and only concern ourselves with our contract, our union, our problems. We're not out there alone, and when we get into a problem situation we realize very quickly that we need the support of other groups.

S.A.: What effect do you think this experience will have on IFFA members after they return to work?

Halverson: Before, all it meant to be a union member was that you paid your dues. It's definitely not going to be the same, and that's one of the reasons the company would like very much not to have any of us back. They know what they're going to get back is a very motivated, unionized work force.