By Maria Hickey, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – The recall rights for 1,400 former TWA flight attendants have been extended for another two years.
American Airlines, which bought TWA in 2001, agreed to push back the furlough period. It was to have ended for most of the flight attendants July 1, 2008.
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri helped broker the deal. She says the issue became an emotional one for her.
"So often in this line of work you don't get to see the people you help and that's what's been so fun about this," McCaskill said. "This is real, these are real people, these are lives that have been disrupted, many times, torn apart by this unfair situation, and to be able to right that wrong, that's about as good as it gets."
McCaskill says American Airlines officials told her that most of the 1,400 flight attendants likely will be called back to work over the two-year extension.
Their salaries will be at the same level as when they were laid off.