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labor leader , flight attendant patricia a. friend
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patricia a. friend

patricia a. friend is the former international president of the association of flight attendants-cwa , afl-cio .
a united airlines flight attendant since 1966 , during her 16 years as international president , friend was a respected leader in the airline industry and throughout the labor movement .
following the september 11 terrorist attacks , friend was appointed by u.s. secretary of transportation norman mineta to serve on the dot rapid response team for aircraft security , a group of industry experts assembled to recommend aircraft security improvements .
since then , she has tirelessly lobbied congress , the federal aviation administration and the public for their support of more stringent security measures and financial relief for displaced workers .
under friend 's leadership , afa-cwa has fought for and won whistleblower protections for aviation employees , increased penalties for crew interference , a smoking ban on international flights , and opened the door for occupational safety and health protections for all flight attendants .
elected to her first four-year term as international president , friend assumed leadership of afa-cwa in january 1995 .
she began her fourth term as international president on january 1 , 2007 .
friend 's ability to represent afa-cwa 's diverse group of working women and men stemmed from her 37 years of flying and vast experience in all aspects of union business .
today , afa-cwa represents 42,000 flight attendants at 21 airlines , making it the largest flight attendant union in the world .
as a result of the merger between afa-cwa and the communications workers of america -lrb- cwa -rrb- , friend served as a cwa vice president .
in that capacity , she was a member of several cwa executive board committees , including education , legislative , political , health and safety and the new economy workers committee .
in addition to her role as afa-cwa 's president , friend is one of eight women on the 46-member afl-cio executive council .
as an afl-cio council member , she presides as chair of the public affairs committee .
she also serves as a member of the financial oversight committee of the transportation trades department as well as serving as the department 's secretary-treasurer .
in addition , she serves on a number of other afl-cio committees , including legislative/public policy , women workers , organizing , strategic approaches , international affairs , subcommittee on independent union raiding , appeals committee , and the committee on ethical practices , committee on finance .
she is also a member of the board of directors for working america , a community affiliate of the afl-cio .
most recently , friend has been appointed by the afl-cio president to serve on the board for the national endowment for democracy .
on the international level , friend promoted the interests of the flight attendants by her participation on various committees of the international transport workers federation -lrb- itf -rrb- , which represents more than 5 million transport workers .
she is the chair of the cabin crew committee , the representative to the itf icao cabin safety training manual working group , plays an active role on the women 's committee and is the women 's representative on the north american executive board .
friend also serves as a representative of the women 's committee of the international confederation of free trade unions .
friend also received an appointment to the board of voices for working families , a nonprofit organization created to ensure that everyone in the u.s. can participate fully in america 's political life .
friend 's third attempt in nine years to organize delta air lines flight attendants again ended in failure on november 3 , 2010 when the national mediation board announced at the end of the latest voting period that the `` no union '' choice on the ballot won the election .
afa has filed objections to the election with the national mediation board documenting hundreds of incidents of alleged interference .
those charges are pending as of january 1 , 2011 .
she retired from the afa office at the end of 2010 .
born in the midwest and raised in oklahoma , friend is now based in washington , d.c. , and is retired as united airlines flight attendant .
