Hawaiian Air flight attendants hand out leaflets at Kahului Airport
Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant Aloha Fo (right) and Association of Flight Attendants local executive council Vice President Kahea Ching wrap up their picketing with other Hawaiian Airlines workers at Kahului Airport on Tuesday afternoon. “We’ve been in negotiations with the company for the last three years,” Ching said. “All we want is a contract. That’s all we are asking for. Our purpose today was to get more information out to the public. Three years is a long time to go without a contract.” The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Ching holds flyers that were being handed out at Kahului Airport on Tuesday The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant Aloha Fo (right) and Association of Flight Attendants local executive council Vice President Kahea Ching wrap up their picketing with other Hawaiian Airlines workers at Kahului Airport on Tuesday afternoon. “We’ve been in negotiations with the company for the last three years,” Ching said. “All we want is a contract. That’s all we are asking for. Our purpose today was to get more information out to the public. Three years is a long time to go without a contract.” The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Ching holds flyers that were being handed out at Kahului Airport on Tuesday The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Trending
The Maui News
About 11 Maui Hawaiian Airlines flight attendants and their children handed out 700 informational leaflets, outlining their contract issues with the airline, to people at Kahului Airport on Tuesday morning.
The leaflet distribution was part of a larger effort statewide with flight attendants protesting at Hawaiian Airlines corporate offices in Honolulu and staging events at Hilo, Kona and Lihue international airports and Kahului Airport, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants said.
"We are asking for a fair contract," said Jaci-Ann Chung, local executive council president. "We are not asking to bankrupt the company; that would be silly."
The flight attendants just want to share in the profits. They have not had a raise in three years, she noted.
Flight attendants also have seen their medical insurance premiums increase and their 401(k) benefits cut. The union voted in late 2019 to authorize a strike, and negotiations have stalled, said union spokeswoman Lexie Morrison.
The leafleting lasted from about 8 a.m. to noon, when they ran out of leaflets, said Chung. The flight attendants wore red shirts saying "I Support Hawaiian Airlines Flight Attendants"
Chung said the flight attendants encountered the gamut from those declining a leaflet to those saying, "I totally love the flight attendants, how can we help you?"
She noted that the work email addresses of Hawaiian CEO Peter Ingram and board Chairman Lawrence Hershfield were on the back of the leaflet.