Flight attendant morale hits low point in face of COVID-19 stress

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Lyn Montgomery

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Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 556 President Lyn Montgomery joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss how the challenges faced by flight attendants — constant flight rescheduling, worker shortages, long hours with few breaks, etc. — have led to low employee morale during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The TWU is the Union of Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants.

She also spoke about a Southwest Airlines company policy requiring workers who report sick to see a company doctor to verify the illness. Flight workers are prohibited from coming into work if they experience any COVID-19 symptoms, even something as simple as a mild headache. They are then required to have the illness confirmed by a company assigned doctor, which stresses the employee’s schedule, especially during a pandemic. The TWU has taken a hard line against the requirement and is currently in a dispute in an attempt to end it.

Flight attendant morale has reached its lowest point during Montgomery’s career. Workers are exhausted, as they work long hours with few rest times during a period of chronic understaffing. Many staff members have quit or retired, and those left are often dealing with a frustrated public and suffer excessive harassment, Montgomery said.

The TWU has requested higher security measures, including more manpower at gated areas, but it continues to be an uphill battle, she said.

Listen to the entire episode to learn about how flight attendants are struggling to adjust to travel ordeals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues.

America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers.

Flight attendant morale hits low point in face of COVID-19 stress

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