In wake of deadly DC crash, these flight attendants in Charlotte demand higher pay
Holding yellow signs with slogans like “Pay us or Chaos,” flight attendants from PSA Airlines walked across the busy intersection by the entrance of Charlotte’s airport Wednesday. Drivers passing blew their horns in support of their protest for more pay and better contracts.
They were represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-Communications Workers of America. The union voted at 99% to authorize a strike in September.
PSA is a subsidiary of American Airlines. It was a PSA flight, under the American Eagle brand, that collided midair with a military helicopter over Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29. All 60 passengers and the four Charlotte-based crew members died, as did the three Army soldiers on the Black Hawk.
Contract negotiations have been dragging for about two years, according to representatives from the union.
Sean Griffin, local executive council president for the union, said the pay is insulting. The majority of flight workers with less than three years of seniority are locked into a pay rate of less than $24,000 per year for the first three years, he said.
“A lot of times we hear the pay is unsustainable for people living in any of our bases,” Griffin said. “We have a lot of flight attendants that have quit recently because of that. They can’t afford to keep working and doing the job they love because the pay is so low.”
Reaching an agreement with flight attendants is a priority, PSA said in a statement.
“Picketing is one of the important ways flight attendants express their desire to get a deal done — and we share the same goal,” PSA stated. “With the support of the National Mediation Board, we continue to meet regularly with the AFA and have made progress toward reaching an agreement that our flight attendants deserve.
PSA will continue discussions with the union in April.
Flights Attendants from PSA are paid on average 45% less than crew members directly paid by American, according to the union. American’s management control pay and working conditions for American Eagle carriers, AFA-CWA added.
PSA workers would like to be treated like American flight attendants. This includes a double digit pay increase, boarding pay, retro pay and better scheduling.
“It’s disrespectful,” said Keturah Johnson, a flight attendant from Washington, D.C. “We’re doing the same job and we deserve to be paid and compensated accordingly.”
PSA and CLT
In January, PSA announced plans to move its corporate headquarters from Dayton, Ohio to Charlotte. The announcement was made just hours before the deadly D.C. crash.
It was the first major U.S. commercial passenger flight crash in nearly 16 years, and the deadliest U.S. air disaster in over 23 years, according to AFA-CWA.
The crash shows how flights attendants are the first to help people in the air when disaster strikes, protesters said. This includes work such as first aid training and security.
“Those were Charlotte-based PSA flight attendants,” Johnson said. “If anything we’re out here for them to show solidarity with our union and that we deserve to be paid accordingly for the job that we do.”
Johnson, who also serves as the regional vice president for the union, helped with leading coworkers during the picket line near one of the world’s busiest airports.
“Flight attendants save lives,” Johnson said. “It’s actually quite disturbing when we’re out here and we’re asking people to honk and they just look at you.”
For an official strike, the union will have to go through the National Mediation Board, a federal agency that coordinates labor-management relations within the railroads and airlines.
“But we are prepared for that,” Griffin said.
The airline operates more than 750 daily departures, including over 180 out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. PSA also serves about 21,000 customers daily at CLT, according to the company.
PSA serves American’s American Eagle regional network, with support to hubs in Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 4:05 PM.
