Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D – New York) claims “it is unacceptable that some of the same attendants who care for us the skies must resort to sleeping in cars because their pay is so low.” While showing solidarity with the union representing American Airlines flight attendants is hardly a surprise for AOC, is her living in cars claim correct?
Really? AOC Claims American Airlines Flight Attendants So Poorly Paid That Some Must Sleep In Cars
AOC claims that some flight attendants for American Airlines have to sleep in their cars because they are not paid enough:
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1725303728763277686?s=20
That’s quite a charge. I’d love to know on what basis she is making this claim. Is this for a full-time employee at American Airlines mainline? Is this by choice? How many FAs are sleeping in cars?
Full-time flight attendants at American Airlines are already paid a living wage, full stop. That’s not to say that I do not support pay raises commensurate with inflation for these workers (and others). That’s reasonable. Furthermore, I believe that companies should be severely penalized via punitive taxes if their employees are paid so little that they are forced to seek public assistance. But I don’t think that is the case here for any flight attendant who chooses to work full-time.
In any case, as View From The Wing notes, the union plans a strike announcement on Monday that will coincide with Christmas:
This afternoon, your APFA Negotiating Committee met with your Board of Directors to brief them on the status of negotiations, including the next step: a request to the National Mediation Board to release us into a thirty-day cooling-off period.
On Monday, November 20th, we will communicate information regarding this week’s negotiations and next steps, including the APFA Board of Director’s action on the request to the NMB to be released to strike.
Flight attendants hope to secure boarding pay (as non-unionized employees at Delta Air Line already enjoy) and a much higher hourly pay for their duty hours. Thus far, the two sides are very far apart on hourly wages.
It could be a very turbulent Christmas.
CONCLUSION
AOC claims flight attendants are so poorly paid at American Airlines that some are resorting to sleeping in their cars. Frankly, I question that…but would love to hear from flight attendants at AA. Are you sleeping your cars? If so, is by necessity or choice?
image: AOC / X
“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D – New York) claims”. I stopped reading there.
And yet, you felt the need to let us all know about a topic you don’t care about…
She must occupy so much real estate in his brain that he apparently has to write to let us know he didn’t read her.
Got. it.
One person slept in a car one night cause they were passed out drunk = AOC: a lot of FAs are sleeping in cars.
This is absolutely ridiculous. What evidence does she have of this? When I went to school in 2015-2017 in California there was ONE student that lived in her van (by choice). She pocketed her living expenses loqn/subsidy and spent it on other things. We all offered her to stay eith us for short and long term. Bur she lived living in her van, moving around, and living at the beach under the stars. It’s ridiculous for AOC to make this comment without pointing to any case/instance/facts/data. She is a known liar and ignorant “word vomiter”: so I’m not surprised.
AOC is a clown Communist
How could people be so stupid as to elect that unintelligent bartender?
The same people who elected a drooling half-dead decrepit old man for president, assuming of course that he was truly elected, which is dubious.
She seems to be more intelligent than either of you, so there is that…
Saying that already disqualifies your opinion.
Nah, it’s kind of true.
Nah bro
Lol keep telling yourself that 🙂
Don’t need to, I know it every time she opens her mouth, just like when I read your comments.
Your ignorance is truly astounding then.
Derek – More appropriately, how could anyone vote for ANY DemocRat for any elected office? AOC is just ANOTHER in a long line of America destroying DemocRats.
COMMIEcrats also accurately describes them
How are they communists? I think neither of you know what real communism is…
I agree with you, You are my hero. Can you donate to my campaign, by the way? I saw some Blahniks that would really hep me serve my constituents much more effectively.
Are you the person guy who posts as Joe Biden? Because that stopped being funny years ago.
Total bs
“Are you sleeping your cars? If so, is by necessity or choice?”
Would anyone sleep in their car by choice?
I did once…to save paying for a hotel. Checked into PH NY the next morning. It was certainly by choice.
I am derek, not Derek, who commented above.
I have slept in cars before. One time, it was in a remote area where all the hotel rooms in the small scenic town were occupied due to a holiday. Another time, I slept in a car to save money for one night while in a European city. Yet another time was when I locked myself out of my house but a neighbor saw me and asked me to sleep in their spare bedroom for one night while a key was being sent by Fedex to me.
In high school I once slept in the bed of my pickup after a couple of friends and I took turns chugging a gallon jug of supermarket wine. I woke up at sunrise covered in my own vomit and was unable to drink wine for years after that.
Funny though, I am an amateur winemaker now.
Hey Chi Hsuan, I bought a long bed conversion van and hiked the Appalachian trail. Best summer ever. I applaud you on the wine as my beer bottling experiment turned into an explosion no one would help clean up .
Sorry to hear about the beer Maryland. I hear the carbonation can be a real issue when making beer.
According to glassdoor.com, the average AA flight attendant earns $58,493 per year. Indeed.com reports $33.66 per hour.
Boardingarea’s PYOK reports the starting pay at $30.35 per hour + benefits. The union wants $41/hour to starting FAs and $95/hour for senior FAs. $95/hour is excessive. That is more than some attorneys and doctors make. That is way more than double what Kaiser Permanente pays the starting pediatrician!
$30.35 an hour is about $28,000 a year – – flight attendants are on the clock for roughly 75 hours a month. Try living on that in New York, DC or Miami, where there are bases.
She’s a crisis actor. She went down to the Texas border and re-enacted Fred Sanford having a heart attack—“this is the big one Elizabeth!” over the treatment of immigrant children.
She learned the trade of Crisis Acting from Chuckie Schumer who has made a career out of doing that!
I suspect some flight attendants in training, who I understand are not paid, slept in their cars and told AOC and that’s where she got the idea.
If indeed FA sleeping in the car, because they chose to like they chose to not doing any pre departure beverage service in First and Business and NO served on short haul flight in the economy class
“I suspect there’s more to this that isn’t being mentioned.”
Possibly. but as you said, trolls gotta eat.
Wow, it’s like you rang the troll dinner bell.
Relevant to the topic, BA flight attendants have absolutely had to sleep in cars but this is the first I’ve heard of this assertion in the USA. Considering that AOC – whatever you may think of her political stances – is extremely bright it seems extremely strange that she would make such a statement without a factual basis. I suspect there’s more to this that isn’t being mentioned.
You do realize that is the same person who was completely blown away upon discovering what a garbage disposal was. She is absolutely more suited to be a bartender than a US Rep.
Perhaps she sees how disheveled and frumpy many of them look for flights, with no pride for self care, and just imagines this.
American’s offer to flight attendants already includes boarding pay
Another claim is that flight attendants sleep ‘8 to a room’. It is called a crash pad, where several crew share an apartment that is not their primary residence when they do not live in the city that their job is based.
AOC is just a [redacted by admin] generator. Most of what she says is false or insane.
Proof?
Proof? Just opening her cake hole is all the proof you need. I’d recommend she go back to bartending, but she wasn’t even good at that.
Wow. She must really trigger you.
Also, still no proof.
So let’s do basic math here because some people thinking “the average FA” is taking home 58K per year is making me laugh non stop even more than Matthew’s classic misinformed articles. This article is clearly referring to new hires or people with not much seniority
30.35×75= 2,276 per month before taxes and other deductions.
This does not include per diem or incentive pay because those are not guarantees on reserve. You will probably make more working at a fast food chain starting out
To say this is a living wage for bases like BOS, LAX, and New York. STFU and stick to writing about flight reviews. Clearly you should do proper research prior to posting such trash.
Do you sleep in a car? Do you know anyone who does?
Yes, or sleeping in the airports. It’s common especially for new hires just starting out.
Yeah, it’s hardly a living wage in cities like that.
Who is working 75 hours a month? That’s 18 hrs per week or really 2 days work for a domestic FA.
I am a current FA who is on new hire pay. The rate is $30.35 per hour and we are guaranteed 85 hours of pay and have to be in base 18 days a month.
85 x $30.35 = $2579 before taxes. How can someone live in BOS, NYC, MIA for that.
Additionally our hourly rate isn’t for 8 hours per day. If you calculate it at 8 hours per day, it is $17.91 per hour, which is what some fast food places are paying.
Lastly, I have slept at the airport many times and know of FAs who do sleep in their car.
What happened to having crash pads with others in high rent markets? It’s a viable and practical solution that is very cost effective. Further, if you knew the possibility of getting assigned to NYC, for example, at the current pay scale, why did you apply and take the job? There are many opportunities out there in other professions that pay better and are in less expensive markets.
Really, FA’s rank up there with people who buy houses next to airports and then complain about the noise.
Let’s not act slow please. They apply for the job because they are interested in it. That’s a plain and clear cut answer for you.
A crashpad is an additional cost to them. They are paying that on top of rent, car notes, and other bills. Meanwhile making less than 2,300 a month.
The guarantee for AA is 75 hours not 85 so it would be even less money than what you posted.
A lot of new hires (and some not so new hires) live in the airport in the more expensive bases. I don’t work for American, but it was very common at the 3 airlines I have worked for. I don’t think living in their cars is common, but being homeless is. New hires don’t earn much.
Yeah it’s true.
I’m a flight attendant and starting out in a brand new expensive city is a huge struggle. The pay is trash but it will get better at around year 5.
I’m not in my car (although it was a strong option at first when looking for a place) but I know many who do sleep in their cars. (Especially the San Francisco based FA’s)
The pay looks good on paper but in reality it’s not a lot.
A term thrown around is “full time work for half time pay”
I’m thankful I don’t have kids yet right now or else this just wouldn’t work.
I do love the job though so I consider it to be an investment in myself to get to year 5 pay and be somewhat stable, and that’s really what keeps me going.
Now, another option is to commute, but that’s not always viable and results in a lot of FAs being fired within their probation period.
I think your approach is a positive one and most here will appreciate that. Kind of refreshing coming from an FA.
My question is why are these FA’s who “sleep in cars” not joining crash pad groups. Or, finding families who rent out bedrooms to students and recent temporary workers? There are countless options out there that would certainly constitute a healthy choice for oneself opposed to sleeping in cars. Sounds to me that the car is a choice, not a forced pain they must endure.
This dumbass couldn’t find an anti-Israel rally to attend?
What the author doesn’t understand is the pay formula. The hourly rate sounds really great, until you realize it is only for hours flown. So a 14 hour duty day, with only 6 hours of actual flying pay makes one live below the poverty level. I hate when “pretend know it alls” report on things they know very little about. I’d love to see the public work one 3 day trip and see the truth. Does Isom’s secretary come to work an hour early to brew coffee and warm up computers with no pay??? Does she stay after hours without pay to clean up??? Unless you’ve done the job, you really have ZERO clue.
Then why do you work there? Fine. Punch a clock, $20/hr, NO travel benefits. Happy?
The US economy was Roaring ‘20s level hot last year. Any of them could have gotten a job that didn’t require car sleeping. I call Bull.
FAs should be paid for training, boarding, and deplaning. However, AOC is full of shit.