Speaker: Ondrea, New York 10 Years
Describe how 5 (five) years without a raise or improvements in our contract have affected you personally.
Ondrea: When I was hired in 2014, I was given a proof of employment letter stating that I was to make $18,000 a year. I was then sent to live in New York City. Our most expensive base and one of the most expensive cities in the US. When I finally saved enough money in 2015 to move out of my crash pad, my rent was going for $1950 in New York City and only to qualify for an apartment on your own. You have to show that you make 40 times the monthly rental amount I needed to show proof of income for 78,800. That year, I made 29,361. 2019 was actually the last year that I had a raise. My same apartment was renting for $2350 and my yearly earnings was $56,651. Today, the average cost of a one bedroom in New York City is $3000 a month. My same apartment is considered a steal at 2700. Basically a rate that I was only able to secure because of a global pandemic. I was injured on the job last year. So my earnings ended up only being $53,571. So as you can see the math never adds up. And it's time that American Airlines pays us flight attendants the wage we deserve.
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