Why we're running

We’re Emily VanVleck and Kassie Iwinski, and we are honored to announce our campaign to run for LGA base President and Vice President. We’re proud of NYC’s enduring legacy of leading the way for the rights of workers in our community and beyond – and we are ready to add to that legacy as leaders who will fight for NYC. We’re a city of dreamers who aren’t afraid to do the work, and workers who aren’t afraid to dream of a better tomorrow.

Issues

Our platform and how we intend to lead

Meet Emily

Emily VanVleck has been flying for 10 years. Her interest in union work started after she returned from furlough in 2020. She elected to take a EVLOA and return to school to finish her bachelors degree. While in school, she got involved in social justice work, joining the board of a women’s nonprofit where she still serves. When she returned to the line in 2021 she wanted to use the knowledge she gained to streghten flight attendant power and fight back against contractual violations. She became a Base Council Representative in 2022 and soon fyer volunteered to be a Contract Action Team Base Contact.

As a Contract Action Team Base Contact she built a team of Ambassadors to inform flight attendants about the status of negotiations. Between terminal walks, organizing pickets, and flying a full schedule, she was proud to be building trust with flight attendants that the union is stronger when we’re all involved. She is honored to be continuing her service to flight attendants by running for LGA Base President.

Meet Kassie

Kassie began her career as a flight attendant at a regional airline in 2014, joining the American family in 2015 in PHX and then PHL. She has been based in LGA since 2020. Her dedication to her colleagues, passengers, and the labor movement has always been rooted in her commitment to care and community — a commitment shaped by her academic and professional background in social work and mental health advocacy.

Her desire to work for change at the local level was inspired by her experiences navigating maternity leave after the births of her two young children. She fought back against an illegal leave denial from MetLife and AA Management — and won. It deepened her understanding of the importance of strong support systems and the power of direct action. She is eager to bring these values to union leadership.

A proud New Yorker, Kassie lives in Harlem with her husband and family. She believes that together, we can create a stronger, more inclusive, and more supportive union for everyone.