One Extraordinary Day in the Life of Union Members, Doing their jobs
January 19, 2009
 It was a made-for-television moment that had Americans mesmerized as the story unfolded in photos and videos on a frigid night on the Hudson.
An airline pilot deftly ditches a fully-loaded jet into the Hudson River in Manhattan, while flight attendants expertly prepare passengers for a hard landing. In 90 seconds flat, 154 people exit the plane. One remains on board—the pilot, Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger III. He makes two passes up the aisle, confirming that everyone has been evacuated and leaves the floating plane. He is the latest international hero.
New York Gov. David Paterson said: “We’ve had a miracle on 34th Street. I believe now we’ve had a miracle on the Hudson.”
If the safe landing of US Airways flight 1549 was a miracle, it was one that was union-made. Sullenberger, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and a former fighter pilot, was once safety chairman of the Air Line Pilots Association. The flight attendants are all members of The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.
Jake Brown, Sullenberger’s next door neighbor in Danville, Calif., told the San Francisco Chronicle, “That sounds like Sully to me. With his military experience and love of flying, it’s what I would expect.”
Patricia Friend, president of the AFA-CWA said, “We applaud our flight attendants for their professionalism in today’s emergency water landing…[Thursday’s] successful evacuation is an overwhelming example of the necessary role flight attendants serve on board the aircraft.”
The air traffic controllers who helped route the Airbus A320 around Manhattan, after Sullenberger reported that a bird strike had shut down both engines, are members of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
The ferry crews that immediately responded when they saw the plane in the river are members of the Seafarers International Union. The police and fireboats that arrived to pull passengers to safety are crewed by members of the Fire Fighters and Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.
In our everyday lives, says IBEW International President Edwin D. Hill, North Americans are surrounded by union members doing heroic jobs. “In the midst of a union-bashing advertising campaign by employers working to defeat legislation to help workers form unions and better their wages and benefits, it’s a valuable reminder that our union brothers and sisters on Flight 1549 and on the waters of the Hudson can serve as examples of real teamwork and caring for people that is at the core of our values.”
Photo used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user grego
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