Change.org: American Airlines closes in San Francisco - Keep American Airlines Flight Attendants at SFO

American Airlines doesn’t want to give their employees a break - so they are forcing them to move. Earlier this month, American announced they’re closing their San Francisco base following new California labor laws that require more breaks per shift. With this decision, 403 flight attendants with lives and families in California must "voluntarily transfer" to a base in another state or quit. If they choose to transfer, they must pay for the move completely out of their own pocket. An anonymous flight attendant started a petition calling on American to reconsider their decision. Join them in calling on American to do what is best for their employees. Keep American Airlines Flight Attendants at SFO 4,299 have signed Christian Torres’s petition. Let’s get to 5,000!

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On September 14th, 2022, 403 American Airlines flight attendants based at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) were notified by email that after nearly 50 years, it will be shutting down the flight attendant base, citing COVID, slow market growth, and "no future flying prospects", despite the US government giving airlines bailout money during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to keep afloat. Shutting down the base at SFO will displace 403 flight attendants and their families, being forced to either quit, retire, or transfer to a base that is located outside California, since LAX is overstaffed. At the time of writing, flight attendants need to make the difficult choice by September 26th, a day before the company is supposed to address crew members on the transfer they have so little time to decide on. At the time of writing, flight attendants based at SFO are being forced to transfer "voluntarily", meaning the company isn’t required to pay them moving expenses, like they should, despite them being kicked out of SFO involuntarily. At this time, there is wide speculation that American Airlines, a Dallas, Texas based company, decided to shut down the base at SFO due to California’s generous labor laws, as California offers employees legal flexibilities over their schedules and pay. Employees see this as an attack on California’s labor market overall, and the senior employees at SFO who gained salary increases for their service. Most importantly, however, is the fact that the union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) has said little to nothing to the employees it is supposed to defend. We call to action congresswoman Jackie Speier, Governor Newsom, Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh, Secretary of the Department of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, CA Secretary of Labor Natalie Palugyai, and you, to help us reverse American Airline’s decision, and keep the jobs and livelihoods of 403 families who have called San Francisco, and the bay, their home. By signing this petition, we hope to gain traction to this cause, to hold American Airlines and the APFA responsible for their negligence, and to keep American Airlines’ base at SFO for years to come.

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