The letter below was mailed on June 2, 1011 to United Airlines International-Based Flight Attendants.
June 2, 2011
Dear United Airlines Flight Attendant:
The IAM is committed to ensuring all Flight Attendants, including those based outside the United States,
receive the best union representation possible.
Flight Attendants in International Bases deserve the same level of protection as any other Flight
Attendant. Unfortunately, your current union’s position on this important matter has ranged from benign
neglect to outright hostility.
For years your union advocated closing the International Bases. Now that they are vying for votes, they
claim they will protect Flight Attendants based outside the United States. They did nothing for their
members when United closed bases in Taipei, Paris and Santiago. Actions speak louder than words, and
the CWA-AFA’s inaction speaks volumes.
United Flight Attendants in growing numbers are angered with the approach their current union has taken
regarding their situation. Some of the concerns raised with the IAM are current taxation problems faced
by U.S. citizens domiciled overseas, to unwarranted FICA deductions the CWA-AFA has been unable or
unwilling to address.
The IAM has already met with International-Based United Flight Attendants regarding the unique issues
they face. One such meeting with a UAL International Flight Attendant dealing with complex tax issues
included an IAM in-house labor lawyer and an outside tax attorney. The IAM is gathering additional
information about this tax issue, but it is clear the CWA-AFA has failed to provide Flight Attendants with
information about local and international tax laws.
The full resources of the entire IAM will be available for International-Based Flight Attendants to resolve
the specific problems they encounter as a result of being based outside of the United States. The IAM has
a proven track record of working to ensure that no Flight Attendant is discriminated against based on their
location in the world or their country of citizenship. If you want to learn about how the IAM represents
workers that are not based in North America, I hope you will contact Continental Micronesia Flight
Attendant and Local 2339-G President Morna MacDonald. Her email address is
mornamac65@gmail.com. She will be happy to hear from you and answer your questions.
With the collective power of 24,000 Flight Attendants, 55,000 total United Airlines employees in the
IAM, and the largest and most powerful airline union in the world behind you, together we will finally be
able to ensure that International-Based Flight Attendants are no longer treated like second-class members
in their own union.
Sincerely,
Robert Roach, Jr.
GENERAL VICE PRESIDENT
A PDF version of this letter is available here.
