Ding Dong, The Queen is Gone (well, not quite!)

The AFA Reign of Terror Continues............

It's official. Queen Patricia Friend of AFA is retiring from United Airlines, beginning August 1, 2008. The reigning monarch of the long running AFA Clown show has finally decided to call it quits at United Airlines. Unfortunately for the membership, Queen Pat Friend did NOT see fit to resign her monarchy post as President of AFA at the same time.

Despicable Greedy Unethical Undemocratic and Typical AFA !!

She has no shame!

In her official announcement, The Queen Bee decided to take the "early out" at United Airlines after all she has "accumulated" just short of 42 years. Many of those years sitting atop the throne and "accumulating" seniority at United while draining the AFA coffers of hundreds of thousands of dollars $$$. What with a salary in excess of $105,000, the QUEEN HAS DONE WELL FOR HERSELF..........Get that, herself! While leaving the AFA membership in a dismal state with the majority of member flight attendants SYSTEMATICALLY LOSING INCOME or OUTRIGHT LOSING THEIR CAREERS.

WHAT HAS AFA DONE TO ASSIST??? ONLY CONCERN THEMSELVES WITH ORGANIZING CAMPAIGNS.....NOTHING MORE.

THANKS QUEEN PAT!!

One could surmise that Queenie saw the writing on the wall and the horrific doom and gloom future for the career flight attendant. An industry which has shown little improvement in the recent past.....Soaring fuel prices, an industry in turmoil and the antics of the AFA circus clowns!

• A union which has failed miserably to see outside its own self-serving interests.


• A union which has failed to improve the lives of its members.


• A union which has failed to create a winning strategy for contract bargaining


• A union which has failed to focus on its members, rather only the dues $$$$$


• A union which has failed to be honest or have integrity


• A union which has failed to halt the fear mongering and scare tactics


• A union which has failed to listen to the membership


• A union which has failed to rid itself of internal petty politics


• A union which has failed to support democratic ideals with unwelcome appointments


• A union which has failed to deliver, again and again.......

So the AFA membership is now stuck (into 2010) with an International President that is no longer a flight attendant!! Queen Bee Friend will continue siphoning off hundreds of thousands of $$$ dollars more from AFA during her tenure and not even be on a flight attendant seniority list; all the while collecting her airline retirement.

We can only imagine the princely sum AFA-CWA will begin paying out in retirement benefits to the Queen when her term ends in 2010. Curious to know exactly what President Friend will collect from your dues for her AFA tenure?? (Alongside her United pension too.) Ask your lecmec@nwaafa.org

Ask yourself.....And what exactly has Pat Friend done for you??

Like we said, Patricia Friend has done well for "herself". Ask the Aloha or ATA flight attendants how well Queen Friend & Company has done for them??? Ask those flight attendants working under pay concessions (the majority of AFA members) and those airlines facing further bankruptcies (hello, United)....How well has Pat Friend and her team done for them???

What is the term "a vacancy in office"?? (AFA Constitution Article IV, Sec G.1) One can ask, if an officer is no longer a flight attendant, how can one "fairly" represent the largest "flight attendant" union in the world? Would not it make ethical sense to relinquish the the top position when one decides to no longer participate in the profession??

What kind of public image does such failure to relinquish power display to the membership? What of the "transparency" within our union? The political and power hungry International Queen wants the best of both worlds! To accept a lucrative "buyout" from a major airline while continuing to siphon off a substantial salary from the beat up and bruised membership.....OUTRAGEOUS!

"Consistent with our Constitution and past practice I will serve out the remainder of my term" Defending such an unethical decision in the name of "past practice"? Is this not reminiscent of having International Officers not even being flight attendants but speaking on their behalf?? Is this not eerily reminiscent of former Teamster base representatives speaking on your behalf and not even being flight attendants!

So much for the AFA claim we are a "bottom up" organization. Quite the contrary. AFA leaders on the Local Level (LEC) are required to remain active flight attendants while Queen Pat's decision seems to insolate those at the top levels of AFA from the same requirements! That sounds like a "top down" organization, if ever there was one!! The membership is not fooled by your "past practice" rhetoric!

Let's see....2010. Isn't that the time about 14 different AFA Council's contracts are up? Hmmmm

Pat Friend, your failure to relinquish your AFA International Presidency in the face or your recent resignation at United Airlines, is NOT fair, honorable or even in the best interest of your membership!! With more than one half of your term remaining, an immediate election should be called: it's the right and ethical thing to do!

(Then again, ethical and AFA........quite the oxymoron!)

YET ANOTHER AFA CIRCUS SIDESHOW....

The AFA Clown Antics Continue..

"Introducing in the center ring, your AFA-NWA merger committee leaders."

They've Gotta Be Clowning, Right??

Nope! Seriously, our future is in jeopardy with these Bozo's running the show!

Your Northwest Airlines MEC just announced the appointment of the new Merger Integration Committee and what a cast of clowns have we been dealt.

EVERY Northwest flight attendant should be outraged!!!

First up. Barbara Bozo Schlosser (MSP). No clowning, this Bozo was on the merger committee for Republic East/Hughes Airwest Merger when Republic Airlines "bought out" Hughes Airwest in 1980. You see, Bozo Schlosser was on the larger Republic East side and her proposal that "only my seniority counts" cost the Hughes Airwest flight attendants years of seniority on the combined list. Her proposal for rank and ratio cheated other of our colleagues out of their date-of-hire seniority. To this very day, there are flight attendants on the Northwest seniority list who lost their date of hire seniority, as a result of Bozo Barbara Schlosser's proposals!! And now your AFA MEC selected this Bozo to represent YOU on the Delta/Northwest merger committee. How could any reasonable AFA union official, who claims to endorse "date of hire", appoint a person who has previously proposed rank and ratio to represent the membership?? Now that Northwest Airlines is the "smaller" of the merging carriers, do we await the same fate Barbara Bozo Schlosser once endorsed......rank and ratio?? Does not this appointment of Bozo Schlosser strengthen the Delta Airlines case to rank and ratio the Northwest flight attendants?

What was good for Barbara Schlosser 30 years ago when Republic "bought out" Hughes Airwest; Delta Airlines can now say, that is what is good for the (larger) Delta group today when they "bought out" Northwest??

Shame on those elected AFA leaders for endorsing the Schlosser appointment; awarding the Bozo for "getting" rank and ratio for the Republic East flight attendants!! (at the expense of others, I might add)

Write your lecmec@nwaafa.org

Bring in the clowns. Next we have Ann Marie Mastalerz (BOS) aka Anna Banana Bandana. This is the same clueless piece of work who negotiated under the auspices of the IBT (Teamsters) and Billie Davenport. Remember the outrage, when these IBT negotiators sold the membership down the drain?? When Anna Banana Bandana was "booed" by the membership for attempting to sell a crappy contract to the membership? "This is the best we can do!" A contract that was overwhelmingly defeated 6,108 to 2,727!!

Was not this horrible representation the downfall of the IBT??....The loss of the NWA flight attendants and the largest one day membership loss in Teamster history.....over 10,000 members! AFA had attempted earlier to "raid" the Teamsters and lost-

And one for the labor movement history books:

a grassroots organization of NWA flight attendants had done the impossible: they had created their own union, PFAA, and defeated the Teamsters! This single feat will probably go down in the history books as the greatest accomplishment of any airline labor group! PFAA did, what AFA could'nt!!

Hey DELTA, maybe it's time to create your own union before the merger!! Then collectively we can oust AFA! Now that would be history making...........

Back to the two Bozos....

Now this "well respected" (according to Bruce Retrum, yeah take that one to the bank) IBT clown is going to represent you at the merger table??

According to the Associated Press article of August 30, 1999

"Ann MarieMastalerz, a flight attendant for 23 years, was in favor of the agreement".

Look at the seniority list, Anna Banana Bandana Mastalerz was hired January 2, 1990!!

How does that equate to 23 years way back in 1999? Jeesh, she can't even get her own seniority correct and she is appointed to our merger integration committee??? I guess she is hoping to count her years at Eastern Airlines, too.

Anna Bandana Mastalerz, will all my previous years as a server at the Airport Dippity Dew Drive-Thru count towards seniority too??? Afterall, I did serve Pepsi and I did work at the airport!!

Clearly, neither of these "political" appointments represent the interests of the membership. Let your lecmec@nwaafa.org know of your outrage!

These two appointments DO NOT represent the Northwest Flight Attendants!!