Remember that scene from the film Norma Rae when Sally Field holds up a sign that simply says "Union?"
Yeah, it doesn’t appear there will be any triumphant feel-good moments here.
American Airlines is threatening to discipline any flight attendant who alters their regular uniform by wearing a union related T-shirt on board a flight or at training school.
The stance by the airline has only fueled the animosity between the flight attendants and those who want to unionize, including the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), and airline management.
Part of the issue is that the union has given out colorful, can’t-miss T-shirts that are bright red emblazoned with the union logo. It’s better than the alternative, which was said to be a shirt that reads, "We Are Ready."
While that might sound innocuous, it’s how the shirt was constructed. Each letter was set in a different color so that it reads the acronym "WAR." That was nixed, however, when it was deemed to be too divisive.
American has since banned its flight attendants from wearing any T-shirt with a slogan, but the union is challenging that and saying that its original T-shirt has just a logo and not a slogan.
"It is unquestionably evident that the company's prohibition of flight attendants wearing an APFA logo shirt to/from and while attending training is solely intended to 'chill' and/or suppress lawful union activity," the union wrote in the letter to American's labor relations legal team.
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