AFA International
COVID relief legislation temporarily prohibited airlines from using stock buybacks that enrich executives and big investors on the backs of workers and consumers. But those prohibitions end on September 30.
Now is not the time to start sending cash to Wall Street when the airlines can’t yet meet public demand or manage effectively through operational challenges. Airline workers have had contract negotiations on hold for years – delaying raises and improving working conditions needed to keep skilled workers on the job and attract new applicants.
We call on all airline CEOs to take the No Stock Buybacks Pledge!
Airlines pledge to extend the COVID relief ban on stock buybacks until:
- operational meltdowns are not the norm and staffing and flights schedules are aligned to support public demand; and
- labor contract negotiations are concluded.
Stabilizing the industry must be CEOs #1 priority. Not $1 in stock buybacks until this is achieved.
From 2014 through 2019, United, Southwest, American and Delta rewarded Wall Street with more than $39 billion in stock buybacks. That’s money that should have been invested in improving passenger experiences, better staffing, and good jobs. When the pandemic struck, aviation unions secured a historic relief package, the Payroll Support Program (PSP), which provided the airlines with funding to maintain payroll and benefits, while temporarily banning stock buybacks and capping executive compensation. At the same time, frontline workers helped the U.S. aviation system weather the economic and public health storm.
We know Wall Street will demand airlines resume buybacks the minute this ban ends. But if CEOs don’t prioritize operations, the crisis in the industry will only deepen.
Airline CEOs can use resources to end operational meltdowns and restore stability, or they can feed Wall Street greed. Sign the demand that CEOs put the industry’s stability, their passengers, and aviation workers first. Greed doesn’t fly. No stock buybacks until the industry flies right!
