I'm a Sunrise Movement Activist. Yes, I'm Proud My Dad's an Airline Pilot

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09-04-2025

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As a kid, airplanes felt magical. Standing at the edge of a runway, the metallic scent of jet fuel in the air, I watched my dad point out aircraft as they roared past. In his crisp pilot's uniform, he seemed like a hero, teaching me the names of different models and filling my imagination with stories of flight.
But today, that magic has dimmed. The same metallic scent now reminds me of the fossil fuels stealing my generation's future. Airplanes may be awe-inspiring, but the industry is part of the system driving worsening hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts, and contributing to rising sea levels. My dad's job — a career that has provided for our family for decades — relies on burning fossil fuels. It's a personal tension that mirrors the larger fight between sustaining livelihoods and tackling the climate crisis.
As a climate organizer fighting for a Green New Deal, green union jobs, stronger public schools, and worker power, I've learned that this tension isn't a barrier to solutions but a pathway to them. To win climate action, we must topple the fossil fuel industry. But this fight isn't about vilifying workers like my dad. It's about dismantling a system that exploits both labor and the planet for profit. Corporate greed and corruption, not workers, are the common enemy.
The global airline industry burns tens of billions of gallons of jet fuel annually, contributing millions of tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. Airline CEOs rake in astronomical salaries while our schools burn and our workers face grueling conditions.
In 2023, Delta CEO Ed Bastian earned more than $34.2 million, receiving a massive one-time bonus for shepherding the company through the COVID pandemic. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby made almost $18.6 million while United's workers were on strike. And ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods raked in $36.9 million in 2023; yet in the years since, our taxpayer dollars have gone toward battling the estimated $250 billion-plus in damages and economic losses caused by the recent Los Angeles wildfires and the nearly $80 billion from Hurricane Helene in the Southeast, costly disasters fueled by the very industry he profits from. This is part of a larger pattern: Across the airline and fossil fuel industries CEOs rake in billions while their workers struggle with toxic air, unsafe conditions, and inadequate pay. The same forces driving the climate crisis are exploiting the labor that keeps the world running.
This reality is personal for me. My dad has worked in aviation for over 25 years, starting at Continental Airlines in 1999, he told me in a phone conversation. 'For much of that time, I worked under broken labor contracts, earning a shockingly low income despite grueling schedules that kept me away from home for days on end.'
It's a story that's all too common in industries tied to fossil fuels. These workers — whether they're flight attendants, mechanics, fuel handlers, or truckers— make our world run, yet they've been left behind by the climate movement.
For years, I hid my dad's job in climate organizing spaces, fearing judgment. The reactions are exhausting to deal with. I recall a meeting where someone blamed airline workers for climate change. I bit my tongue, but later, I called my dad. 'Do you ever feel like people blame you for the climate crisis?' I asked. He paused, then told me that most of his colleagues want the same things my peers and I are fighting for — clean air and water, a better world for our children. But in the meantime, he said, we have to pay health insurance, rent, et cetera. His words stuck with me. That disconnect I've lived in my organizing — between workers and the climate movement — is exactly what the fossil fuel industry wants because a fractured movement can't win.
To build a better future, we need a united front. The climate movement must center workers and their needs, showing that climate action isn't about job loss; it's about job creation and putting power back into the hands of laborers. This means embracing policies like the Green New Deal. It's about making clear, tangible connections between climate action and economic security. For example, transitioning to renewable energy could create millions of good-paying union jobs in industries like wind and solar, while investments in public transit could provide stable employment for workers currently tied to polluting industries.
We've already seen what solidarity can achieve. Airline unions have fought to improve safety standards, secure better contracts, and protect jobs. In August 2024, flight attendants at one major airline voted 99.99% to authorize a strike if leadership wouldn't meet their demands for fair treatment and better pay. Across the country, union petitions rose by 27% in the 2024 fiscal year, with workers in industries from retail to transportation taking bold action. These fights show that workers are waking up to their power. Now, they need allies in the climate movement.
As an organizer with the Sunrise Movement, I've seen how powerful these alliances can be. In January, I helped organize a protest outside Chevron's Richmond, California, refinery demanding the corporation help pay for the schools, homes, and businesses lost to the Los Angeles fires. To our surprise, oil and gas truck drivers honked in support as they drove by.
Later that day, I called my dad to tell him about it. 'You know,' he said, 'most of us, even those of us in these industries, agree the system needs to change. But it's hard to see a way out when your paycheck depends on it.' His words reminded me that we're not fighting against workers; we're fighting alongside them.
The climate movement must actively support labor by showing up for picket lines, advocating for stronger unions, and demanding corporate accountability. This includes lifting up workers across industries, from the Amazon Teamsters to the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) to my dad's union, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). It means listening to their concerns, addressing their fears, and building solutions that prioritize their well-being.
Together, we can create a world where every worker has a good-paying job, every family breathes clean air, and no one is left behind. To win this fight, we need everyone — climate organizers, labor unions, and everyday people — standing shoulder to shoulder. We can build a better system, one that supports workers, the planet, and generations to come.
Let's get to work.
Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
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