Flight Attendant Gets Fired For Saying She Qualifies For Food Stamps

[ap23ap]

A Compass Airlines flight attendant, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), was terminated on Thursday after publicly revealing she qualified for foods stamps. Read Full Story

[puckstopper55]

After only reading the threads title on the list of active threads, I was 10000% sure she was fired because she qualified for the "mile high club" ... After reading the article, this is just INSANE. Now I dont think the job itself is super hard or demands 10 years of school, these people put their life and personal schedule at risk more then 90% of other people, and I think this should be factored into their pay.

[hiss srq]

She does. Most RJ F/A's and some mainline F/A's like US's defineately make pitiful money. So do the pilots at regionals. Almost every regional I can think of in fact. Interesting note. Based on monthly garuntee if USAirways were to hire pilots all of the new hire's would make just a scratch above what is required in most states to qualify for food stamps as well.

[hiss srq]

For example. Pinnacle. They start at I beleive 18 and change a hour on a 72 hour garuntee. Past that 72 hour garuntee it is time and a half plus 1.50 an hour per dium. F/A's are only paid the prevailing rate from door close beacon on to beacon off door open. So you could have a 15 hour duty day and fly only 4 hours. That means you get 4 hours at say 18 and the rest at 1.50.

[moose135]

After reading the article, this is just INSANE. Now I dont think the job itself is super hard or demands 10 years of school, these people put their life and personal schedule at risk more then 90% of other people, and I think this should be factored into their pay.

Did the airline hide their pay scale when she was going through the hiring process? Were they forcing her to continue to work there? She made a choice to apply for, and work at, that job, knowing the salary. No one was stoppnig her from getting a higher-paying job if she was unhappy at the airline.

[puckstopper55]

Did the airline hide their pay scale when she was going through the hiring process? Were they forcing her to continue to work there? She made a choice to apply for, and work at, that job, knowing the salary. No one was stoppnig her from getting a higher-paying job if she was unhappy at the airline.

While I agree with you 100%, the fact that she is working has something to be said for. I know a few people who refuse to work for that little of money because they make more on unemployment. So the fact that people can work a job like this, and make less then someone who doesnt work, gets me mad.

[mirrodie]

Did the airline hide their pay scale when she was going through the hiring process? Were they forcing her to continue to work there? She made a choice to apply for, and work at, that job, knowing the salary. No one was stoppnig her from getting a higher-paying job if she was unhappy at the airline.

I echo what Moose said. In a nutshell, don't **** where you eat. She is no different that the idiots who move near an airport and then btich about the noise.

Dont feel too sorry for her since you and I are paying for her food stamps....

[megatop412]

Here's another angle to consider. In corporate America, which includes the airlines, operational decision-making is guided by shareholder interests and "the bottom line", not best practice guidelines. This is why we see things like planes taxiing on one engine, planes taking off with less fuel onboard than they should have, and outsourced/subcontracted maintenance shops. Or Colgan 3407.

All this is to say that when you pay peanuts, you can expect to get monkeys. I know that sounds harsh, but sooner or later, safety takes a back seat to "operational efficiency". A person who maybe would have been rejected from FA training before is now accepted. Then, you pay an inflated fee to get on his/her airplane. And when the emergency breaks out, you're screwed.

No one forced this FA to take this job. However, I'm more than willing to bet that she has very few alternatives in this environment that pay more. To say that the market value for this skill set in regional operations like Pinnacle is a disgrace is an understatement. And the airlines can afford to pay more, given the recent reports of their profits. However, the profits will in all likelihood go towards executive compensation.

She wasn't fired because she deployed the emergency slide at the gate. She was fired because she exposed her employer to the light of public scrutiny. In my mind, that qualifies her for whistleblower protection. We're not talking about captains of merging carriers fighting over senority here. Are people comfortable with the fact that the person who is running through the safety briefing, corralling the drunks, and diffusing domestic disputes is living check to check, worrying about whether they can pay all their bills that month or whether they can afford their health insurance? I know I'm not, which is one of several reasons that I try to avoid flying these days.