In celebration of Women’s History Month, PBS American Experience is presenting an encore of the documentary Fly With Me, which explores the history of flight attendants. It will air on Tuesday, March 18, at 9 PM ET. Check your local PBS station for broadcast times in your area. Featured in the documentary are American Airlines Flight Attendants Dusty Roads and Jean Montague, along with Elaine Rock, the author of the biography Dusty Roads: Meet the Hidden Figure Who Really Ignited the Women’s Movement. 

In the 1950s and 1960s, becoming a stewardess, later known as a flight attendant, was one of the few ways young, single women could experience adventure and independence. But beneath the allure of jet-setting glamour lay a rigid set of rules that dictated their careers—and their lives. Stewardesses could be fired for getting married, turning 32, or gaining weight. They endured humiliating weigh-ins, mandatory girdles with “flick checks” to ensure compliance, and were paid less than their male counterparts.

In 1953, one woman refused to accept the status quo. Dusty Roads, a stewardess for American Airlines, became a fierce advocate for her peers, challenging these discriminatory policies head-on. As a union leader, she fought tirelessly for fair treatment and equality in the airline industry. Her efforts propelled her to Capitol Hill, where she became one of the first female union lobbyists to Congress, pushing for legislative change.

Her landmark battle against American Airlines and airline industry-wide policies led to a groundbreaking moment in history—Dusty filed the first-ever sex discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and Title VII. She took to the frontlines of the fight for gender equality, reshaping workplace norms and paving the way for future generations.

Dusty’s story, along with those of other brave stewardesses who confronted these injustices, is highlighted in this enlightening PBS program—a must-watch for anyone interested in the untold history of the women’s movement and the struggle for workplace rights.

See the trailer at: Fly With Me: Trailer or stream it on their website at the PBS website or the PBS App.

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In November, Dusty was invited to speak and be interviewed by Gloria Steinem at the February 2019 MAKERS CONFERENCE in Dana Point, California. Dusty, Jean and I were looking forward to the trip and to seeing Gloria again.

Unfortunately, on Christmas day, Dusty had a mild stroke and needed immediate speech and physical therapy as she had some reading, memory and walking problems. I was able to get home health care for her and her nurse, physical therapists, speech therapists and occupational therapists from the St. Joseph Home Health Care organization in Sonoma were like angels working miracles. Jean, the therapists and I worked together the entire month of January to improve Dusty’s memory and stamina so she would feel confident enough to be interviewed at the Makers Conference. I wrote many iterations of potential interview questions that we tested on her daily. By February, her doctors said as long as she remained at sea level, she could go to the conference. So, Jean drove Dusty in their RV and I followed them in my car along the coast to Southern California. The weather was uncooperative—gale-like winds and torrential rains plagued us while we were en route. While we stayed in Pismo Beach, Dusty caught a cold.

Although she wasn’t feeling great, Dusty nonetheless made it to Dana Point, had a successful dress rehearsal for the interview and looked forward to the next day. But overnight, she developed breathing problems. She could not get out of bed and in the morning I asked Makers to send the paramedics. It’s a good thing I did as she was diagnosed with pneumonia that was heading toward congestive heart failure. In the meantime, Gloria Steinem, instead of interviewing Dusty, gave a tribute to her while Dusty was on the way to the hospital. I made it to the conference room and saw the last of Gloria’s speech. I met with her and our Makers contacts backstage afterward. I was able to discuss my book with Gloria and she and her administrative assistant said they’d help me. Then, a few days later, on our way home, Jean and I became seriously ill, too, and were sick for well over a month with a vicious pulmonary bacterial virus. We have all finally recovered but it sure took a long time!

Click here to see Makers and Gloria’s tribute videos to Dusty and her sisterhood of stewardesses on my “Books In Progress” page.

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The letter later states, “As union leaders, we commit to do all in our power to avoid or mitigate furloughs. The airline industry needs an extension of the CARES Act to keep us in our jobs, getting our paychecks, and connected to our healthcare. We made sure the Payroll Support Program can only go to our pay and benefits while requiring no involuntary furloughs, stock buybacks, dividends, as well as capped executive compensation. The problem is demand, not labor costs and this federal program run with public money, our money, keeps us in our jobs and ready to return our industry to full strength.  We urge our airlines to come out in support of legislation as that is the most direct way to avoid furloughs and keep us strong.”

And, “We also call on carriers to dramatically improve the early outs and voluntary leaves to allow those who need time off or a transition to retirement after years of service. And an extension of the Payroll Support Program ensures we all get paychecks for an additional six months, a vital bridge to regain confidence in air travel and much closer to a vaccine.

We must not let management set up a false choice of pitting our careers against our contracts. Staffing at the airlines is a function of flight schedules, and passenger demand. Cutting sages and work rules will not bring our jobs back. It simply means those remaining at work will work for less. And those returning from furlough would come back to lessened career expectations and diminished jobs. Se know from experience it can take years or decades to recover from concessions, impacting Flight Attendants of all seniority levels long after the crisis has passed and profitability is restored.

“On behalf of tens of thousands of Flight Attendants across the industry, we stand united in our opposition to concessions. Flight Attendants must not be allowed to bear the burden of the aviation crisis. When the industry recovers, and it will, we are committed to retaining our contracts intact and building even more improvements for our Flight Attendant profession.”

To view the entire letter, click on the following link to it:  https://mailchi.mp/apfa.org/flight-attendant-unions-unite-against-concessions

Barbara “Dusty” Roads and I want you all to know that we stand in solidarity with you too! This is a good example of why unions are necessary.

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The Points Guy posted a great review, written by Harriet Baskas, about tonight’s PBS American Experience documentary. She mentions how Dusty and Jean entered the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission after the 1964 Civil Rights Act and Title VII passed Congress and filed the first discrimination complaint in the country based on gender discrimination.

In the 1950s and ’60s, “stewardesses were glamorous. They were beautiful. They were poised,” says former Delta Air Lines flight attendant Casey Grant at the beginning of a new documentary film about the history of flight attendants.

But over time, thousands of stewardesses, as these workers were called then, were also angry and exasperated by the working conditions they had to endure in the sky and on the ground.

“Fly With Me,” premiering Tuesday, Feb. 20, on PBS’ “American Experience,” tells the story of women hired as stewardesses when airline policies dictated everything from their weight to their marriage status who went on to fight — and win — battles for equal pay, gender and race equality and workplace reform.

“So many of the women who became flight attendants were young, ambitious, and adventurous,” says Sarah Colt, who directed the film with Helen Dobrowski. “Some thought they’d do the job for two or three years and then follow societal norms of the ’50s and ’60s and then get married and move on. But the job became much more of a career for them.”

Here’s a link to read her complete article.

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