Millions of air passengers would be put at risk thanks to the industry’s reliance on a grossly understaffed, unpaid federal security workforce, she prophesied. During the shutdown crisis, she warned that the aviation industry had only a few more days before it began to truly collapse, and would soon face a massive wave of flight cancellations. But for Nelson, they’re her rhetorical stock in trade. It’s been a good while since American labor leaders-known mostly these days for resisting confrontational strike tactics and seeking to influence electoral outcomes via campaign donations-have resorted to such “which side are you on” appeals. When I met with her not long after the shutdown had concluded, she explained that she was moved to action in part because she found the government’s refusal to take care of back pay for the federal workers to be simply “wrong, completely immoral.” It was her call for a general strike, delivered during her acceptance speech for the 2019 AFL-CIO MLK Drum Major for Justice Award on Sunday, January 20, that was widely credited for jump-starting the endgame of President Donald Trump’s brutal five-week shutdown. As the head of a union that represents nearly 50,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, she reacted to the government shutdown in January with dire concern for both her membership and the passengers they are charged to protect, and-unlike many of her peers in union leadership-decided to do something drastic to fix it.

Nelson has fast become a rising star in the labor movement, as well as one of its most unapologetically militant voices. As the president of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) and veteran flight attendant who has worked for United Airlines since 1996, Sara Nelson is no stranger to wearing heels-but after spending some time with her, one gets the distinct impression that she’d be just as comfortable in combat boots. The most powerful labor leader in the country right now is about 5’5” in sneakers, though her work uniform generally adds an extra inch or two.

Basalt by Sarah L. Nelson