AFA-CWA Lands Paid Sick Leave for Virginia Workers

Last month, Flight Attendants represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) won a political victory with the signing of legislation to expand paid sick leave to all Virginia workers. AFA-CWA members joined allies including the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA); the Virginia AFL-CIO; and NoVA Labor, the Northern Virginia AFL-CIO representing 72 local unions and over 56,000 workers.

The new program has a phased implementation based on employer size, ensuring that all Virginians have the basic protection of paid sick days. Members of United AFA-CWA Council 21 (AFA-CWA Local 22021) lobbied at the Virginia Capitol building, fighting airline executives' attempts to exclude airline industry workers from the program.

"Our union has long fought to make sure Flight Attendants are included in paid and unpaid leave policies," reads a statement from the AFA-CWA. "State by state, airlines attempt to exclude us, but we continue to fight to make sure Flight Attendants have access to the same benefits as any other workers. In Minnesota, we've beaten back airlines' attempts to exclude airline workers from the state's earned sick and safe time law, with our own Kaela Berg leading the fight in the State House."

Congratulations to all the AFA-CWA activists who fought for, and won, paid sick leave for all Virginia workers!