After more than 30 years of being lumped in with animal trainers, hairdressers, funeral attendants and fitness trainers by the Department of Labor (DOL), flight attendants have been reclassified together with pilots and air traffic controllers as essential transportation workers. It’s about time!
The flight attendant unions have been pushing for this change for years, but never succeeded in getting the labor statistics category modified. However, with the actions of the flight attendants during the Hudson River landing of US Airways 1549 and the take-off crash of Continental 1404 in Denver — all without casualties — the “essential” nature of flight attendants aboard aircraft were highlighted and they were moved from the category of “personal care providers.”
All of a sudden, getting passengers safely out of disabled aircraft has come to be recognized as far more important than simply serving coffee, soda and snacks to passengers. Though these recent crashes have provided intense public focus on the safety aspect of flight attendants, to be fair, much of the reclassification work had already been completed at the DOL.
This is more than a symbolic victory. The DOL’s Bureau of Labor statistics maintains a Standard Occupation Classification (SOC) system in which every occupation is assigned to a certain category. These categories are reflected on the DOT employment data and affect government planning and reports.
All Federal agencies that publish occupational data for statistical purposes are required to use the SOC; State and local government agencies are strongly encouraged to use this national system to promote a common language for categorizing and analyzing occupations.
Being officially classified as essential safety professionals may not add another dime to flight attendants’ pay or change their working hours. But it sure raises their self image and stature among American workers.
Bravo!
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
