Help for former ATA Flight Attendants

Conference Helping Former ATA Employees Find New Jobs
By Joe Ulery
5/14/2008

April 3 was a bad day at work for the 580 employees at Indianapolis-based ATA Airline. They woke up to news that their employer was filing bankruptcy, and found out they no longer had a job.

But today is a new day for many of those workers. They are done crying, they are finished being depressed, and they are putting on their power suits, ready to get back in the game.

And, they are getting a lot of help.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Indianapolis Private Industry Council (IPIC), Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's office and Ivy Tech Community College are hosting a "Job and Career Transition Conference" for the displaced employees.

The conference brings together local employers who need more employees.

AAR, Boeing, Angie's List, Clarian Health Partners and WellPoint are among those reviewing the ATA workers' resumes, letting them know what jobs are out there.

Several former ATA flight attendants were at the conference today at Ivy Tech.

Sondra, of Noblesville, worked as an ATA flight attendant for 20 years. She says the help she and her former co-workers are receiving is great.

"Fortunately, WorkOne has been a great help. They had a four-day class that helped us get our resumes up to speed," she said. A lot has changed since the last time Sondra looked for a job. "Now, it's all electronics... it's a completely different world," she said.

But she is ready to put April 3 behind her.

"We all spent time crying on each others shoulders. We had telephone trees. People who were depressed, we tried to stay in contact with them. However, we are survivors, and we look forward," she said.

Amanda, of Noblesville, worked for ATA 16 years.

She says losing a job is tough, but she's ready to move on with her life, and hope's the conference will help her do it.

"My main thing is that I don't know what I want to do. I want to do something different," she said.

James, of Indianapolis, worked for ATA for 23 years, and like Amanda and Sondra, he is keeping positive attitude.

"Initially, it was pretty traumatic, but I am a survivor. You go through phases...denial, then you grieve. But now, I'm kind of over those stages," he said.

He is not sure what he will take away from the job conference, but he is keeping an open mind.

"Maybe I can get a feel for exactly what type of job or company that I want to work for," he said.

Making the trio's job search even harder is the economy and the price of gasoline.

"I actually talked to someone about a job on the south side, but it was so far south that with the salary range and gas prices, I couldn't even approach it," Sondra said.

In addition to the job conference, ATA employees are being encouraged to continue using WorkOne centers.

It great to know they have support and help after the awful bankruptcy. I just hope Aloha Flight Attendants get similar support and help.