6.28.25 – APFA LGA Base Brief – Important Message from the LGA Base President

Important Message from the LGA Base President

Saturday, June 28, 2025

On Friday, June 20, 2025, I filed Contract Base Notice of Dispute; 2025-LGA-52 regarding a violation of our CBA, which ensures Reserve Flight Attendants are paid sit rig compensation above their monthly reserve guarantee, regardless of hours flown.

It’s perplexing that a contract so recently ratified is already being undermined by one of the very parties that signed it. But what I do know for certain is that APFA entered negotiations in good faith. Unfortunately, American Airlines revealed its true posture long before this current dispute, even during the staffing arbitration, when their own missteps spoke louder than any statement ever could, I know, I was there.

On Tuesday, the APFA Board of Directors was briefed again by the National President on the Company’s blatant attempt to reinterpret what was clearly agreed upon. Let’s be honest—this isn’t a disagreement. This is a continuation of a management culture that prefers ambiguity over accountability and only shows up for its workers when forced to by policy, not guided by principle.

Your union is responding with clarity, strategy, and strength, anchored in the very terms that were ratified by you, our members. We are working on resolving this issue, and if we cannot, we will file a Presidential Grievance.

Now, those of you in New York know I have no hesitation calling out what’s right and wrong, loudly when necessary. I’ve always believed that our union must fight with full force for what our membership deserves. But let me also be honest: when it comes to dealing with American Airlines, we need precision, discipline, and above all, unity.

I fully support dissent, dialogue, and debate, hallmarks of any healthy union. But this isn’t a moment for knockoff unionists who use controversy as currency while offering no real path forward. This is a fight for true trade unionists, those who understand the stakes, feel the weight of responsibility, and stay focused on delivering meaningful results for our members.

We are standing up for our Reserve Flight Attendants—some of the hardest-working and most overlooked among us. They deserve a quality of life, fair compensation, and the respect that comes with both. And let’s be clear: when their livelihoods are under attack, it affects all of us, line-holders included.

So long as I have the honor of representing the nearly 3,400 members of New York, and serving on the APFA Board of Directors, I will not allow American Airlines to pull another staffing stunt—not on my watch, and not on ours.

As the LGA Base President, I am beholden only to the membership, first, last, and always.

In Unity,

Christian M. Santana
APFA LGA Base President
[email protected]