Flight Attendants Fear ‘Poison Pill’ in Government Grant Program

Flight attendant unions are urging Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin not to force U.S. airlines to provide equity stakes in exchange for government grants, arguing that the move amounts to “a poison pill” that will lead to job losses.

The CARES Act, signed into law Friday, allows for $25 billion in cash grants for airlines to cover workforce wages for six months. The measure allows U.S. officials to require an ownership stake in return.

But that condition could keep carriers from accepting funds to meet their payrolls and wind up causing the job losses the grants were trying to avoid, the ...