Erin Wood - IAH

I started my journey as a flight attendant at SkyWest Airlines in 2006. Initially, I said I'd give this flight attendant thing six months, and I'm still here. SkyWest is a great company to work for, and the crew members are amazing. 

I noticed a difference in morale several times in my career. The same family-oriented company I started with is now just another business, and the family environment is gone. Let's state the obvious: SkyWest has just gotten too big, and the flight attendant group is definitely feeling the effect of these growing pains. 

Whether you're pro-union or anti-union, you can't ignore that we need change in our representation. When I began my career at SkyWest, there was no need for a union, but the bigger we got, the more stretched SIA has become. SIA is just too small of an organization to handle the 4,100+ flight attendants, and they don't have the workforce or the leverage of a real union to get us what we need. SIA "negotiated" several pay packages not conducive to the cost of living adjustments and are just matching other airlines versus paying us our worth for working 4 out of the big 5. 

I believe leadership starts with leading, and I believe in our flight attendant group. As an advocate, I am here to promote change that will benefit every flight attendant at SkyWest.