Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor Highlight

In contrast, the flight attendants’ unions were the Gipper’s worst nightmare. For decades, their militant, progressive membership was predominantly made up of women and gay men, and they elected feminist activist Patt Gibbs, an out lesbian, to the presidency of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants in 1977. There is a long history of LGBTQ workers within the flight attendants’ unions and in that workforce, and the intersection between the women’s rights and queer liberation struggles has been a major driver behind those unions’ biggest wins and most heated battles.