I wasn’t aware of the extent to which sleep deprivation is so common among flight attendants. Perhaps naively, I assumed a little more downtime between flights was baked into the schedule. A lifestyle versus a job, indeed.
“It’s more of a lifestyle than a job. If you can handle it, then it’s for you.” How many jobs out there can also make this claim? Too many, I suppose -- they claim your every waking hour and demand nothing less than your soul. This is an insightful piece. Thank you.
Thanks for reading Eric. That's true. I suppose many other industries demand you sacrifice your health, your personal time and often your general wellbeing to "make it."
Thanks for this peek behind the galley curtain. I just finished 12 years of 100-125 segments a year, covering 52 countries. I learned during that time that a kind, calm passenger who gives an earnest smile helps FAs find a little peace at 35,000 ft. These days I fly coach, and only 20 times a year. But I still give every FA a genuine smile and always a thank you.
What an interesting piece, thank you! I’ve often wondered about the life, while I sit in my seat, back and forth from personal and business affairs, understanding that it can’t be easy to constantly traverse time zones and endure turbulence. And be on your feet most of that time! And keep smiling! I always make it a point to thank the attendants as I board and deplane, knowing that I’m just traveling while they’re just making a stop. The mental health aspect is also fascinating. Lots to unpack!
The most malevolent factor confronting airline workers is that they are under the much despised, anti-democratic, anti-worker 1926 Railroad Act. Designed to suppress strikes, that piece of reactionary malfeasance forges a link between those two industries. I wish that every time either walked off the job, the other went on strike in sympathy.
I mentioned this to a head flight attendant years ago as she was venting at Walgreens. She about dropped her teeth when I denied being an airline employee. ‘Who ARE you,’ she gasped?! I suggested she think of me as a very amateurish labour historian.
Airline employees have to work with some of the most difficult sectors of the population. They think they should be handled like royals. Yet they’ve no clue of the dangers on the job.
And how many people even know that while you have to be at the airport and hustling your buns because it’s your job — you’re not actually paid for this because the plane isn’t loaded and in the air?! And what do the carrier unions say?
I worked a trip with a flight attendant who kept referencing the Railroad Act, and it become an inside joke that "it all comes back to the Railroad Act!" whenever we brought up issues with the job. I still need to do more research but from my understanding, it also sounds like the act gives the right to airlines to grant sick and paid leave, "contrary to claims from the airline industry," according to Minnesota's legislative reference library.
And it's true, we only get paid the full hourly wage when the boarding door is closed!
The key idea is that the 1926 Railroad Labor Act [RLA] lays out a lengthy, detailed process ostensibly to resolve disputes early on with mandatory bargaining and strict rules about when and how strikes can be called lawfully.
The core timing framework includes cooling-off periods, mediation, arbitration prior to strike authorization. The steps needed to authorize a strike become a limitation.
The intent is to minimize work stoppages in essential transportation network [which in our world includes both rail and air carriers]. This is promoted under the guise of encouraging peaceful settlement of disputes by limiting strikes to periods after structured procedures have been attempted.
Parties must engage in a series of mandatory steps: notice, mediation, voluntary bargaining, and, if needed, fact-finding/arbitration, all with statutorily prescribed timelines.
Notice of a dispute and a willingness to bargain must be given. Then begins mandatory bargaining, where parties must bargain in good faith [a reality likely more applicable to employed workers than carriers]. During this attempt to resolve disputes, work stoppages are not permitted. If the bargaining stalls, a ‘neutral’ mediator is appointed to help reach an agreement. The intent is to get a settlement without a strike.
If mediation fails, the agency [the National Railroad Adjustment Board] or in aviation [the National Mediation Board] can refer issues to an investigative process or a fact-finding panel to determine the issues and report back with nonbinding recommendations.
Additionally, there are mandatory ‘cooling-off’ periods, and mandatory arbitration/settlement. At some points, there are mandatory cooling-off periods in which strikes or lockouts are usually prohibited. This is to allow continued disruption-free operations while issues are resolved through non-strike mechanisms.
The path to strike intends to delay work stoppages while forcing negotiations forward. Strikes are heavily regulated. Since work stoppages are seldom allowed in cooling-off periods or til nonbinding recommendations are issued and considered, manufacturers and logistics [the carriers] can stockpile and ship product to lessen the impact of work stoppage when it finally occurs.
A federal mediator or authority is involved, and if ‘bad faith’ bargaining is claimed, penalties or interventions are possible. If all procedures are exhausted and no agreement is reached, a work stoppage may proceed only after the cooling-off period and then only with compliance with the statute’s conditions.
The RLA imposes statutory deadlines for each successive stage ]though exact timelines vary by case and grievance type]. Missing a deadline can affect the ability to strike legally. One cannot blame employees for being exhausted even before a strike begins.
When strikes do occur, they are often limited to specific corridors or components of service. They are subject also to court orders. In 2023 [and not without collusion of rail unions, carriers and the admin. and timed shortly AFTER the 2022 midterms], Congress voted to prohibit a very powerfully supported railway strike in the economically critical month of December. That, by what Biden called the most pro-labor admin. in history.
The aviation side of the RLA has its own complexities since air travel is highly interconnected and regulated, and some disputes trigger additional federal oversight or court involvement.
In many industries, workers are finding and giving voice to their common concerns and struggles through the work of this website. Airline workers are among them. Their struggles are published regularly. Over time, hundreds of articles have explored and explained these issues on a world-class web site. Perhaps you will find that airline employees have more support than you realize.
Take care, keep safe, and continue the struggle for justice for airline and railway workers!
I wasn’t aware of the extent to which sleep deprivation is so common among flight attendants. Perhaps naively, I assumed a little more downtime between flights was baked into the schedule. A lifestyle versus a job, indeed.
It's the main challenge as I see it!
“It’s more of a lifestyle than a job. If you can handle it, then it’s for you.” How many jobs out there can also make this claim? Too many, I suppose -- they claim your every waking hour and demand nothing less than your soul. This is an insightful piece. Thank you.
Thanks for reading Eric. That's true. I suppose many other industries demand you sacrifice your health, your personal time and often your general wellbeing to "make it."
Hi Megan!
Thanks for this peek behind the galley curtain. I just finished 12 years of 100-125 segments a year, covering 52 countries. I learned during that time that a kind, calm passenger who gives an earnest smile helps FAs find a little peace at 35,000 ft. These days I fly coach, and only 20 times a year. But I still give every FA a genuine smile and always a thank you.
Thanks David! We appreciate that and everyone who knows our jobs mostly have to do with safety.
An informative insight, thank you.
‘What do you call it, freedom or loneliness?’ 🤌🏻😮💨
Health is wealth 💪🏻
Indeed it is!!
What an interesting piece, thank you! I’ve often wondered about the life, while I sit in my seat, back and forth from personal and business affairs, understanding that it can’t be easy to constantly traverse time zones and endure turbulence. And be on your feet most of that time! And keep smiling! I always make it a point to thank the attendants as I board and deplane, knowing that I’m just traveling while they’re just making a stop. The mental health aspect is also fascinating. Lots to unpack!
Thanks Carin for reading and for having awareness of the people serving the public in this way.
The most malevolent factor confronting airline workers is that they are under the much despised, anti-democratic, anti-worker 1926 Railroad Act. Designed to suppress strikes, that piece of reactionary malfeasance forges a link between those two industries. I wish that every time either walked off the job, the other went on strike in sympathy.
I mentioned this to a head flight attendant years ago as she was venting at Walgreens. She about dropped her teeth when I denied being an airline employee. ‘Who ARE you,’ she gasped?! I suggested she think of me as a very amateurish labour historian.
Airline employees have to work with some of the most difficult sectors of the population. They think they should be handled like royals. Yet they’ve no clue of the dangers on the job.
And how many people even know that while you have to be at the airport and hustling your buns because it’s your job — you’re not actually paid for this because the plane isn’t loaded and in the air?! And what do the carrier unions say?
🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗 🦗
I worked a trip with a flight attendant who kept referencing the Railroad Act, and it become an inside joke that "it all comes back to the Railroad Act!" whenever we brought up issues with the job. I still need to do more research but from my understanding, it also sounds like the act gives the right to airlines to grant sick and paid leave, "contrary to claims from the airline industry," according to Minnesota's legislative reference library.
And it's true, we only get paid the full hourly wage when the boarding door is closed!
The key idea is that the 1926 Railroad Labor Act [RLA] lays out a lengthy, detailed process ostensibly to resolve disputes early on with mandatory bargaining and strict rules about when and how strikes can be called lawfully.
The core timing framework includes cooling-off periods, mediation, arbitration prior to strike authorization. The steps needed to authorize a strike become a limitation.
The intent is to minimize work stoppages in essential transportation network [which in our world includes both rail and air carriers]. This is promoted under the guise of encouraging peaceful settlement of disputes by limiting strikes to periods after structured procedures have been attempted.
Parties must engage in a series of mandatory steps: notice, mediation, voluntary bargaining, and, if needed, fact-finding/arbitration, all with statutorily prescribed timelines.
Notice of a dispute and a willingness to bargain must be given. Then begins mandatory bargaining, where parties must bargain in good faith [a reality likely more applicable to employed workers than carriers]. During this attempt to resolve disputes, work stoppages are not permitted. If the bargaining stalls, a ‘neutral’ mediator is appointed to help reach an agreement. The intent is to get a settlement without a strike.
If mediation fails, the agency [the National Railroad Adjustment Board] or in aviation [the National Mediation Board] can refer issues to an investigative process or a fact-finding panel to determine the issues and report back with nonbinding recommendations.
Additionally, there are mandatory ‘cooling-off’ periods, and mandatory arbitration/settlement. At some points, there are mandatory cooling-off periods in which strikes or lockouts are usually prohibited. This is to allow continued disruption-free operations while issues are resolved through non-strike mechanisms.
The path to strike intends to delay work stoppages while forcing negotiations forward. Strikes are heavily regulated. Since work stoppages are seldom allowed in cooling-off periods or til nonbinding recommendations are issued and considered, manufacturers and logistics [the carriers] can stockpile and ship product to lessen the impact of work stoppage when it finally occurs.
A federal mediator or authority is involved, and if ‘bad faith’ bargaining is claimed, penalties or interventions are possible. If all procedures are exhausted and no agreement is reached, a work stoppage may proceed only after the cooling-off period and then only with compliance with the statute’s conditions.
The RLA imposes statutory deadlines for each successive stage ]though exact timelines vary by case and grievance type]. Missing a deadline can affect the ability to strike legally. One cannot blame employees for being exhausted even before a strike begins.
When strikes do occur, they are often limited to specific corridors or components of service. They are subject also to court orders. In 2023 [and not without collusion of rail unions, carriers and the admin. and timed shortly AFTER the 2022 midterms], Congress voted to prohibit a very powerfully supported railway strike in the economically critical month of December. That, by what Biden called the most pro-labor admin. in history.
The aviation side of the RLA has its own complexities since air travel is highly interconnected and regulated, and some disputes trigger additional federal oversight or court involvement.
In many industries, workers are finding and giving voice to their common concerns and struggles through the work of this website. Airline workers are among them. Their struggles are published regularly. Over time, hundreds of articles have explored and explained these issues on a world-class web site. Perhaps you will find that airline employees have more support than you realize.
Take care, keep safe, and continue the struggle for justice for airline and railway workers!
https://www.wsws.org/en/topics/workersCategory/na-air
Thanks for the detailed insight!
Hey — you were planning on looking into this anyway! Just gave you a head start! 😆 Have a good one.
So interesting. It’s good to be aware of what flight attendants go through.
stewardess
I think it's more common to mistake loneliness for freedom...