AFA Letter to Congress: Support Efforts to Secure Relief for All Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 20, 2020) — Association of Flight Attendants-CWA International President Sara Nelson today sent the following letter to the House of Representatives encouraging members to support Speaker Pelosi's efforts to secure COVID relief for all Americans. The letter reads in part:
"We implore every member of Congress to engage in supporting Speaker Pelosi’s efforts to secure desperately needed relief for the American public in the middle of the worst crisis our country has faced in over 100 years. Setting a deadline of midnight tonight for an agreed COVID-19 relief bill framework was a strong signal to our union that she knows we can get this done if we focus, pull together, and leave nothing to chance.
"Now is the time. There is no retroactivity that Congress can apply to the human toll caused by delayed relief. People are losing their homes right now; falling ill and unable to get another job without access to routine medical care that keeps chronic illness at bay and allows them to otherwise live a normal life; moving their children and all the belongings they can fit into their cars and trying to survive as single parents or two parents out of work. We won’t be able to retroactively restore the lives taken as the despair becomes too great. These are the very real scenarios of Flight Attendants we represent, and we can lift up their stories through our union. Millions of Americans have no one to speak up for them, but we know the good job deficit and wage crisis in our country means most of them can’t afford an unexpected $400 bill let alone the cost of COBRA insurance or one month’s rent payment. There is no way to retroactively restore the harm that will come to a family over the coming weeks, or God forbid months if not secured before this election.
"Inaction is simply not an option when we can keep people in their homes, lock in enhanced unemployment, direct checks, support for jobs and services we count on in our cities, and our small businesses. We urge you to secure as much relief as possible before this election, so we are strong enough to live to fight another day."
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