On Sunday, Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) international president Sara Nelson all but called for a general strike to stop the government shutdown.

Speaking after receiving an award given in honor of Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson, who leads the 50,000-member union affiliated with the Communications Workers of America, said King “called on us to come together with the ‘fierce urgency of now’ to fight for justice . . . .  There is a humanitarian crisis unfolding right now for our 800,000 federal sector sisters and brothers who are either locked out of work or forced to come to work without pay due to the government shutdown.”

After noting the shutdown had the potential to degrade her members’ safety and job security, Nelson said, “Almost a million workers are locked out or being forced to work without pay. Others are going to work when our workspace is increasingly unsafe. What is the Labor Movement waiting for? Go back with the Fierce Urgency of NOW to talk with your Locals and International unions about all workers joining together – To End this Shutdown with a General Strike.”