The
flight attendants of the early 1930's (stewardesses), were an
unusually
restricted and unprotected class of workers. They had to be
white,
female, registered nurses between the ages of 25 and 32, not
over
115 pounds or 5' 4" tall, and neither married nor pregnant. They
not
only served meals and beverages but also fueled the plane,
checked
the altimeter, loaded baggage and mopped the cabin floor.
One
early manual advised, "Remember at all times when on duty to
maintain
the respectful reserve of the well-trained servant."
The Airline Stewardesses
Associations (ALSA) was officially
established and 1946 had
negotiated its first contract with United
Airlines. This contract
covered hours of duty, working conditions,
seniority rights, procedures
for orderly settlement of disputes and
rates of compensation -
the first pay increase since 1930.
Recognizing the financial
benefits of affiliation in difficult labor
management disputes, ALSA
joined ALSSA (Air Line Stewards and
Stewardesses Association)
a division of ALPA in 1950. By the mid 50's,
cabin attendants at 14 carriers
voted to affiliate with ALPA through
ALSSA. Despite affiliation
with the male run ALPA, the women
continued to run the negotiations.
By the early 60's the ALSSA
leadership was prepared for
independence from ALPA,
but the rank and file both cabin crew and
pilots were deeply divided.
It would be 1973 before the Association
of Flight Attendants would
become a union affiliated with, but fiscally
and administratively independent
of ALPA, with full rights to govern
it's policies. But not without
a cost. Flight Attendants from Pan
American, TWA, American
and Continental left AFA to form their
own independent unions.
AFA came fully into its own
when it received it own AFL-CIO
charter in 1984.