As I sit here on the build up of an election that could possibly be the most intensified anxiety filled event of our adult lives..I mean besides this entire year.. Sara Nelson doesn’t care if you're a republican or a democrat- because as president of the AFA- this babe on a mish is concerned about every flight attendant, and union worker.. And she hasn’t stopped meeting with the 435 representatives to plead your case on the Payroll Support Program.
I’m jumping right into it, because if you're reading this, and are a flight attendant then you know who Sara Nelson is- and you know she means business.You are very familiar with what is happening- because if COVID has directly affected any group in this entire world, and in this country it has been the AVIATION community as a whole- and the forgotten frontline worker that is the flight attendant. Not so vividly has this been seared into America's mind - since 9/11.
To say she is deserving of
Babe On A Mish of the Month-
would be an understatement. She embodies everything that is in a - word “INSPIRING”.
To fill in the rest of my babes here- a quick run down on this babe on a mish- Sara Nelson is the International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO. Has been a flight attendant since 1996 with United Airlines, and represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants nationwide-
To put it very bluntly Sara doesn’t F*ck around when it comes to the rights of her fellow flight attendants- or any union worker for that matter.
As recently as February 2020- which seems like a lifetime ago, this babe on a mish flew here to Hawaii to help us ( Hawaiian Air Flight Attendants ) bring attention to our stand still on almost 3 years without a contract- which is CraZyyy- Sara’s pressure along with our Hawaiian AFA, who worked tirelessly- although we didn’t get the exact contract we were fighting for, we moved it so much- and got more in the middle of coronavirus, then our company was even willing to talk about in the years prior.
Let’s put it this way- when Sara spoke out about the dangers of furloughing airport workers during the 2019 Government shutdown-she wasn’t playing. Behind closed doors there was a call led by Sara to strike- something so radical, it had never been done before. A day later when air traffic controllers didn’t show up for work and planes were grounded in New York… President Trump took notice, and though never said publicly- it is widely known on the hill and acknowledged by leaders like Bernie Sanders, that Sara’s hand played a vital role in what caused the outcome- ending furloughs and no-pay status of government workers like Air Traffic Controllers and TSA.
Like I said earlier- Sara doesn’t see you in a category labeled republican or democrat- she sees only ONE category- Flight Attendant. And as I type this with less than a week to see the fate of our country decided, this is one group I could not live without. After all, it has been said Flight Attendants are the MacGyvers of the sky- and in the end- it's each other who we really do lean on. In the air. In another country. In a bind. On the ground. We speak in a language filled with abbreviations and acronyms- it’s an entire subculture, that no matter how bad we try to include you.. In the end it's nearly impossible.
Sara carries that with her- everyday. She is one of us. If you have ever seen her speak then you know what I mean.
With her Obamaiskk speeches- which moves everyone, which evoke emotion, and are relatable, a question not included in the top 10- I had to ask.. Are these written??
“If it doesn’t look like I am reading something, I’m probably not. And there are times when I might take notes up with me, but I rarely look at them a lot of times its extemporaneous, what I know and what I believe”
After speaking candidly with Sara, I found out we were long lost BFFs, and that we have a lot in common actually.. That is why I love this list of questions- it really kinda lets you know more about a person.. Like who do you listen to? I can look you up on wikipedia and do a shit ton of research but like I wanna know what you get every time you go to the grocery store..
Because your human right? Just like me? Here’s the deets on this labor movement icon & mega Babe On A Mish-
After that last line, there was a small moment of silence, I sat back in my chair- and in my mind all of Sara’s speeches ran through… the only thing I could say was “Well- you got the job” both of us busted out into laughter...
I felt like I had just gotten a priceless mentorship, from a woman I admire so much. Her time, and complete candidness is something I am truly grateful for. In a world where even my dermatologist is getting up before I am done speaking ( even though I am paying her for that time ) and out the door- where 30 sec videos are all the rage, holding anyones attention for much longer is nearly impossible, and though we seem to all ‘have time’ its hardly ever undivided- I was HONORED to have this moment- to say the very least.
I asked Sara one more question as our conversation came to a close- with talks of negotiations on the Cares Act and the PSP seemingly to take a sudden halt - what now? “First and foremost just because the president called off talks, doesn’t mean we are stopping our work because no matter what happens in this election we have to get this relief locked in, as quickly as possible- the truth is that congress can actually do that.- without the president. So no matter what the results are of the election, congress can do that- I am spending the rest of my day having one on one conversations with members of congress, and I have been doing this relentlessly for the last 2 weeks, there are 535 of them- and I am working my way through leadership and having direct conversations on what this means, not leaving it up to their staff to share this with them, so we are continuing to set up a means to get this done- NO MATTER WHAT THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE LOOKS LIKE.”
Beyond that Sara emphasizes “REAL ISSUES IN THIS WORLD”- such as climate change- not only in a way that will save our world but our work and also create a new world that is better FOR ALL THE PEOPLE living in it- not just for corporations. “We have to work to make sure we are never in a position again, where when a pandemic sets in and if you don’t have employment you don’t have health care- there are real issues to take on, eradicating sexism, eradicating racism, and these are issues that flight attendants can be at the forefront of discussing and moving along in a way where we can have a common understanding of each-other- so I think our union ( as a whole ) has a pivotal role to play in the kind of world we want to have for our children;
in normal times we fly to every corner of the earth when others can only dream of passing boarders- and we have a unique freedom and a unique responsibility with that- to help to bring people together”
I suppose the mic could drop there but I do have one thing to add on a personal note- as flight attendants, things don’t seem to be so party skewed- although there are flight attendants that believe different things- we do have a common goal in mind, and that bond of being flight attendants ( the life, the training- that subculture), I love how that can really create a bridge- because in time where it feels like we are divided everywhere, as flight attendants we are always united first in that way - when we’re up there in the air and things get cray- it’s you and your crew- and no one truly can understand that meaning- how you become the problem solver, the life saver, the authority- that babe on a mish to get here, there, and everywhere - all while seeing what the world has to offer in between.
At the moment I haven’t flown since March, and while I did actually need to catch up on years of no sleep- I miss my coworkers- and I thought of all of you in a very vivid way when I wrote this piece and interviewed Sara. I saw every face thats helped me, let me tag along in a new country and a strange big city, that has gone to bat for me, I thought of how many friendships this job has brought me.. and to be honest I rest a lil easier-