During the waning months of 2008, Delta and Northwest airlines announced a merger that created the world’s largest air carrier based in Atlanta, Georgia. Since the Department of Justice approved the deal last October, both companies have been steadily working towards rebranding old Northwest planes as new Delta planes; consolidating routes to avoid overlapping; and most importantly, collaborating with the unions to ensure continued representation for all of the new Delta’s valued employees.
Monday, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) asked the National Mediation Board (NMB) to declare that the Delta/Northwest merger has created a single transportation system that requires the NMB to conduct a representation election for the carriers’ flight attendants. Northwest Airlines flight attendants are currently represented by AFA-CWA. Delta flight attendants are not represented by a union.
Delta and Northwest flight attendants have been working together for AFA-CWA representation over the past year. As the largest group of flight attendants at any U.S. airline, Delta flight attendants have a rare opportunity to exercise a decisive voice in the industry.
“Delta flight attendants have a long, proud tradition at the carrier and in order to preserve it, we know we need a legal voice at the bargaining table,” said Delta flight attendant and AFA-CWA activist Marianne Bicksler.
Once the NMB has declared that the merged airlines are now operating as a single carrier, an election date will be set to determine if AFA-CWA will be the flight attendants’ exclusive bargaining agent. The election will be among the largest ever conducted by the NMB, the federal agency charged with overseeing union elections and the collective bargaining process in the airline industry.
“Flight attendants at Delta and Northwest are determined to secure their futures and advance their profession. With AFA-CWA representation, these flight attendants will work alongside management in negotiating what is best for their careers. This election represents a tremendous opportunity for over 20,000 flight attendants,” said Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President.
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Unions are the scum of the earth.
I thought that distinction belonged to Tom Graves supporters.
Yes Andre, because the airlines have just been making so much money, there is a need for unions to get their fair share of those massive profits. What a bunch of dumbasses, maybe they can hire some of the union folks from Eastern Airlines.
More satin jackets. Awesome.
Just a good reason to stop flying Delta
Once upon a time unions were needed. Not anymore. They destroy everything they touch. Eastern Airlines, GM are two prime examples. Want to get a job where you don’t work and still get paid? Try a union. Refuges for the undeserving and lazy.
Yes, Unions were needed for times like “Grapes of Wrath” and “The Jungle.” They are not needed for a bunch of suburbanites living in Peachtree City, trying to get paid even more for a job that has no educational requirements, and very little training, so they can buy a new SUV or golf cart, while they destroy a company that they have little to no capital investment in.
Yes, I understand how this will help the economy. You need the union so that it will bankrupt Delta one more time. Just as VP Biden says, we have to spend more money if we want to get out of these current economic problems. Yes, we need more unions so that they will bankrupt more airlines.
Then, maybe the gov’t will buy Delta & give the union 55% control over the airline. Yes, it all makes perfect sense.
Big anti-union talk, but is anyone here opposed to the right to organize unions? Anyone opposed to the right for workers to gather to collectively bargain? Or do you just not prefer unions?
It’s a free country, and the last time I checked that applies to workers and business owners.
I think people should have the right to organize, although I think the vote should be private, just like the right to vote. I also think a company should have the right to fire anyone who don’t show up to work. That being said, I think unions for people that have cushy, overpaid jobs are a joke and I would vote against them versus losing my job when the company is bankrupt.
If unions are such a good idea, name some companies that are successful with them. I can name a bunch of bankrupt companies, and companies on life-support, that have been suffocated by them.
All of the Hollywood production companies, the professional sporting organizations….
” i knew i needed representation, i found it one night in a bar, he was a bondsman and a part time agent, he said that he could make me a star”
sports are unique b/c they actually have anti trust exemptions and revenue sharing –the point is still basically valid–but the nfl is not exactly like gm
To disprove my point you should have just said “the NHL.”
Good examples, but America is going to need a little more than entertainment jobs to continue to be an economic superpower.
Any worker worth his salt can negotiate his own rate of pay for performance, not rely on the kneecapping goons to force employers to pay more than the worker is worth.
rugby July 30, 2009 at 2:52 pm
To disprove my point you should have just said “the NHL.”
the what?
It’s probably a typo.
It’s DHL, and they suck.
UPS is about the only “real” unionized company I can think of that remains successful and competitive, but they only have one real competitor. And DHL. see above.
DHL doesn’t service the U.S. anymore.
The Hilton I stayed at recently was unionized, I think most of them are. Kroger is unionized as well.
I’m willing to bet the vast majority of unionized companies are successful and competitive.
That’s doubtful. Name something in the manufacturing industry. All of your examples seem to be recreation/entertainment or service jobs. What’s your next example, government jobs?
Well we do have a service based economy so I’m not sure why that matters. Also considering I have almost zero interaction with the manufacturing industry I wouldn’t know who is unionized and who isn’t, other than the most high profile cases.
That said, I do believe Lockheed-Martin is unionized and last I checked, they too are competitive.
DHL was terrible! My understanding is that in the US they did almost none of the delivery themselves but left it up to independent contractors. Sounds great in theory but they always seemed to contract out to guys who were borrowing their baby momma’s fifteen year old subcompact in between bottles of MD20/20 and Thunderbird. Packages would show up days and sometimes even a week after packing tracking showed that they had been delivered.
UPS about died when the union went on strike. I was doing some consulting for them the next time contract renewal came up and the brass in Sandy Springs were scared out of their minds of another strike. But overall UPS employees seem to be a happy bunch and the company does do well.
But to your point of it being the only real unionized company that remains successful, I have to disagree based on personal experience. I worked for years at Winn-Dixie, climbing up the ladder to Dairy/Frozen Foods Manager. Winn-Dixie employees were paid very poorly and did very poor work. We lost money left and right due to theft and spoilage. Whole loads of frozen food would be lost because some minimum wage kid was put in charge of unloading it from the truck. Case after case of beer would disappear out of the back room when senior store management would “accidently” forget to lock the loading dock doors. When I lived in California, I worked for a unionized grocery store and while they paid much better than Winn-Dixie, they got their money’s worth. Everyone was very professional and I never saw any theft or carelessness. The employees liked their jobs and the company but completely supported the union. Vons remains a strong company while Winn-Dixie is just about dead. Sure this is anecdotal evidence and based on a small sample size but I worked in many Winn-Dixie stores and they were all the same.
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