Welcome to AFA Council 91 New York City

The Basics

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Office of Law Enforcement / Federal Air Marshal Service is sponsoring a voluntary Crew Member Self Defense Training (CMSDT) program available to any actively employed flight or cabin crew member.

This crew member self defense training has recently undergone some changes. The old training program was three days of hands-on training. The new training program is a one-day hands-on training (8 hours). According to the new TSA CMSDT web site Overview, the training

“is available to any actively employed flight or cabin crew member. The program is delivered in two parts. First, the crew member receives and reviews a self-paced, interactive DVD and student manual designed to familiarize them with basic self defense concepts and techniques. After completing the review and a short written assessment, the crew member attends one day of ‘hands-on’ training at a participating community college.”

While AFA still believes it imperative that carriers provide an effective hands-on training for our flight attendants, very few carriers are taking the initiative to provide this much needed training, so it is important that AFA members receive information about this TSA program. For further information, AFA members are encouraged to review the Registration Information and 2007 Training Locations, Dates, and Contact Information available on the TSA web site.

AFA Activity and Hot Topics

AFA has requested that TSA send all our safety committee members the newly produced poster pieces for display in all local crew rooms (should be available by early July 2006). Carriers should not object to posting the materials, as they are government and not union posters.

More Information

Please refer to the TSA CMSDT web site for full program information and training dates.

Advocating for America's Middle Class
San Francisco Flight Attendant Takes the Stand

CLICK HERE TO SEE HER TESTIMONY

SFO Flight Attendant Rosemary Miller will be testifying in front of the House Committee on Education and Labor. The title of the hearing is "Strengthening America's Middle Class: Evaluating the Economic Squeeze on America's Families". The hearing will take place at 10:30 am on January 31, 2007 in Washington DC in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2175. All are welcome and in fact encouraged to attend. The hearing will be aired live on C-SPAN. Check your local cable guide for channel. The testimony may also be accessed on the web at, http://edworkforce.house.gov/ . Rosemary, as you may recall represented AFA-CWA in front of the House Democratic Forum on Economic Security and Wages at the U.S. Capitol in September, 2006.

This is not the first time AFA-CWA has made its presence known around Capitol Hill. As a matter of fact this will be the second time that the AFA-CWA has been invited to testify since the 110th Congress was sworn in on January 4th. On Wednesday January 24 International President Patricia Friend, a well respected aviation expert was asked to submit testimony to the Senate Commerce Committee Hearing on the Impact of Airline Mergers and Industry Consolidation.

Testifying is a huge responsibility that Rosemary will not be taking likely. Out of the more than 75,000 Flight Attendants in the United States, Rosemary Miller, a single mom, was chosen to share her story of the trials she and her children face as a result of corporate greed. Rosemary will be representing, not just Northwest Flight Attendants but all Flight Attendants and all working American families who are suffering financial hardships as a result of outsourcing jobs and the Wal-Martisization of America.

In addition to the excitement surrounding Wednesday's hearing, our Master Executive Council (MEC) Government Affairs Committee is launching an e-activist campaign. Each of the 55,000 AFA Flight Attendants are being asked to participate by voice, e-mail or letter to our collective futures.

Albert Garcia and Diana Mitcham, MEC Government Affairs Chair and Vice Chair respectively, have been working with Shane Larson from the AFA International Government Affairs Office in a continuing effort to "legislate, so we won't have to negotiate". Rosemary's testimony will assist our cause as we continue with our current and future contract negotiations.

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