✈️ The Truth Behind Their Headlines
SkyWest Flight Attendants Respond to Management’s Misinformation
SkyWest’s “news” site isn’t journalism—it’s a union-busting campaign. Crafted by anti-labor consultants and posted on a site fully controlled by corporate management, it’s designed to manipulate emotions, mislead facts, and divide Flight Attendants—all to keep us from building power through a real union.
Every article has the same goal: to protect management’s unchecked control over our careers—our pay, schedules, and workplace protections. And they’ll use whatever tools they can to maintain that control, including their so-called “employee association,” SIA.
Let’s be honest: SIA is not independent. It’s not a union. It’s funded and supported by SkyWest management, and that means it answers to them, not to us.
When the people who sign your paycheck also fund your “representatives,” how can they truly represent you?
By contrast, our AFA-CWA union drive is entirely powered by Flight Attendants supporting each other. We fund our union ourselves, which means it is accountable to us alone. We elect our leaders, vote on our contract, and set the agenda.
Let’s break down some of the fear tactics they’re using to try to stop us from organizing.
Smear Piece #1: “The Union is Spreading Misinformation”
The Truth:
The union is us—SkyWest Flight Attendants organizing for our legal right to negotiate a contract. What management calls “misinformation” is actually the truth they don’t want you to know, like:
We will only pay dues after we vote to approve our first contract.
AFA-CWA Flight Attendants at other carriers have already won raises, schedule protections, and legal representation.
Organizing a union gives us the right to bargain as equals, not just hope management “listens.”
✊ If anything’s misleading, it’s management’s fear-mongering, while executives cash out millions in stock options.
Smear Piece #2: “AFA Doesn’t Know SkyWest”
The Truth:
AFA is made up of thousands of Flight Attendants across 19 airlines, including many like SkyWest (think regional carriers like Piedmont and Envoy). They’ve negotiated contracts, won raises, fought discipline, and improved lives in environments nearly identical to ours.
And this isn’t “outsiders” organizing SkyWest—it’s your own coworkers: jumpseaters, commuters, reserve warriors, lineholders—the same people sitting next to you in the galley every day.
Smear Piece #3: “A Union Will Create Division”
The Truth:
We are already united—that’s why we’re organizing. The real division comes from management’s efforts to pit us against each other with scare tactics and loyalty tests. Solidarity isn’t the problem—it’s the solution.
When we speak together, we win together. That's not division—that’s democracy.
Smear Piece #4: “You’ll Lose Flexibility”
The Truth:
With a union, we get to negotiate flexibility. That means SkyWest can’t just change policies on a whim or deny time off without cause. We’ll bargain protections that preserve the flexibility we choose, not whatever management deems convenient.
Ask Flight Attendants at Alaska, Frontier, or Envoy—they still have flexibility. The only difference? They also have rights, representation, and real protections.
Smear Piece #5: “Unions Only Want Your Dues”
The Truth:
Let’s talk about money—and who’s really benefiting.
While SkyWest Flight Attendants work longer, harder, and with fewer protections, executives have sold off millions in stock options, and the company has funneled hundreds of millions into stock buybacks, boosting shareholder profits and executive bonuses.
And yet, when it comes to investing in the people who keep the airline running? Suddenly, there’s “no budget.”
Here’s what they won’t tell you:
AFA dues don’t start until we’ve successfully negotiated and approved a contract that delivers real value: better pay, stronger guarantees, and enforceable protections.
Those dues go directly toward supporting Flight Attendants: legal support, contract enforcement, negotiations, and representation that works for us, not corporate management.
Management talks about dues not because they care about our wallets—but because it’s a convenient distraction. They want us to focus on a small monthly amount instead of the big picture of what we’re missing without a union.
They use “dues” as a cloak to get us to act against our best interests and preserve the status quo that benefits them, not us.
With AFA, every dollar we contribute goes toward building a better future we control, because our union works for us.
✊ Our Pledge: Truth, Transparency, and Solidarity
We won’t respond to every scare tactic or smear article with fear or hate. We’ll respond with facts, unity, and hope.
We are organizing to make SkyWest a place where:
Our work is respected
Our pay reflects our value
Our schedules support a livable life
And our voices are heard—because we have legal standing