Airlines Flight Attendants Raise Their voices on Workplace Problems

Flight attendants of Southwest Airlines came out at the BWI airport on Tuesday to strike against their work milieu. However, it is not only one airline company but other major commercial airline workers as well. These flight attendants have raised their voices to seek better treatment from their employers.

Airlines industries have many issues due to understaffing. Therefore, many companies are looking for employees, but it has not been easy to find willing employees given the low hourly wage and exceedingly hard work compared to other fields like grocery store cashier jobs or even courier service drivers. This is not a Southwest Airlines problem but rather an industry-wide problem.

The airline industry business rebounded to before-pandemic level flights but the number of workers has not rebounded in the same way. Compared to 2020, more than 54,000 airline workers are needed. 15,000 Southwest Airlines flight attendants went on strike on Tuesday all over the country and in London, England, raising their voices for fair working conditions and improved health benefits.

Due to a shortage of staff, airlines have difficulty providing adequate services, including maintenance, baggage, food services, and even flight attendant services, which has led to increased cancellations and delays. Although the airline industry had been provided one of the largest subsidies in the initial period of the pandemic, many workers were furloughed without pay or laid off, which led to many leaving the industry entirely, feeling burned out and betrayed by their employers. The U.S. airlines are absolutely experiencing the consequences of their selfish behavior, it seems.

President Biden said at the White House yesterday that the government is seeking to lower fees associated with airline tickets, especially those seen as excessive. He has also suggested the possibility of making the airlines responsible for their customers for flight cancellations within reason. Whether the airlines will do the same for their employees, is not yet known, but the problem needs to be solved there first.

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