A union has filed for an election to organize flight attendants at Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, marking the fourth attempt in the last 13 years.
This time, the International Association of Machinists, which represents ground workers at other airlines, is seeking to unionize Delta attendants.
While other major airlines are highly unionized, Atlanta-based Delta is mostly non-union.Pilots are the only major unionized employee group at Delta.
The Association of Flight Attendants has tried three times to organize Delta flight attendants, and most recently lost by a narrow margin in 2010, following Delta’s merger with Northwest Airlines. Two elections among attendants prior to the merger led to wider defeats for organizers.
The Machinists union, along with the Transport Workers Union, also has lost elections to represent ground workers at Delta.
But the Machinists union has spent the last two years organizing among flight attendants. The union said it submitted signed election request cards to the National Mediation Board from nearly 12,000, or about 60 percent, of Delta’s more than 20,000 flight attendants.
The process would move forward with an NMB order for a representation election.
Delta said its flight attendants “have already rejected union representation three times since 2002,” adding in a written statement that the workers have “top-tier pay rates,” profit-sharing and other benefits.
About the Author
