SIGN PETITION HERE!

Dear Fellow Current and Former Airline Employees

I'll apologize for the length of this email, 
but its an issue that is very important to me.

I was a former ONA stewardess and some of you know 
I was a flight attendant for TWA for 15 years and 
an additional 2 years with American Airlines, 
who purchased TWA in 2001. 

Unprotected by the purchase, the TWA flight 
attendants lost credit for any years of service to 
the industry and were placed at the bottom of 
American Airlines' seniority list. Consequently 
when 9-11 happened, we were "furloughed",   as 
layoffs occur from the most junior on up. This was 
particularly difficult as we were an "older" 
workforce who had been out of the job market for 
decades.

Although American Airlines accepted millions of 
dollars in federal bail out monies on TWA's behalf, 
(we were still operating under an a separate LLC 
certificate) not a cent was used for TWA. The 
layoffs occurred and today, less than 4% of former 
TWA workers are employed by American Airlines.

The issue at hand is this:
The current AA flight attendant contract addresses 
layoffs with a 5 year window of opportunity to be 
recalled to work. We are fast approaching the end 
to our ability to finish our airline careers and 
return to the job we loved. By July of 2008, all 
remaining former TWA flight attendants, once over 
4,000 proud, will be purged from American's recall 
list. Many have already been stricken already, 
with just over two thousand remaining.   

We hope to give all the opportunity to return.

Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill has drafted an 
amendment on our behalf, in an effort to prevent 
such a thing from happening again through other 
airline mergers / acquisitions or as the result 
of tragic events such as 9-11, and to extend the 
opportunity to return to work to 10 years. 
We hope if it is able to be introduced, it will 
help our cause. It needs your support.

Below is a link to petition the US Congress to 
support Sen. McCaskill's proposed amendment 4.   

Please forward, have the link posted on as many 
websites as possible and encourage your colleagues, 
family, friends, extended family and members of
organizations you belong to read and sign the 
petition. We have so little time. Please continue 
to write, email, fax your Senators.   

It is important to also email, fax and call
Missouri Congressman Carnahan to encourage him to 
sponsor an amendment in the house that would mirror 
Senator McCaskill's language.

Love and thanks to all who do...

Maria Stallings, 
(Formerly Maria Nameika Garcia with ONA and 
Capitol Air) 
 
Please forward this petition link to every 
airline person you know or anyone else that will help