Votes Coming On Representation For Combined Workforce

Delta's hope to realize $2 billion in annual savings by smoothly and quickly merging operations with those of Northwest Airlines has hit a snag, and a not-so-unpredictable one.

The Detroit News reports two unions representing more than 16,000 pre-merger employees of Northwest are balking at holding certification elections needed to fully merge employee groups.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and International Association of Machinists both stand to win big if the combined workforce votes for union representation. But a majority of workers in both crafts come from the Delta side, which was non-union. If the vote by a combined workforce is "no," that union will lose the right to represent members from the former Northwest, and millions in income from dues.

From Delta's perspective, getting seniority and union issues settled is considered crucial to meeting goals for employee morale and customer satisfaction.

"...[I]f these recommendations were to be agreed to by representatives of pre-merger Northwest employees and accepted by the company, we would have seniority integration issues resolved for the vast majority of our combined employee groups," said Mike Campbell, executive vice president of Human Resources and Labor Relations, in a memo issued Monday to Delta employees. "...I want to extend my thanks and applaud the efforts of all the seniority integration teams that have worked to resolve seniority integration issues from both Delta and Northwest."

The Association of Flight Attendants says it has not scheduled a vote, but expects one soon. The union is reportedly pressing the Obama administration to replace Read van de Water as president of the National Mediation Board, which oversees the certification votes. Van de Water is a former Northwest Airlines lobbyist.

The IAM has not scheduled a vote, and has been hostile in its rhetoric. In response to Delta's call for an election, union president Stephen Gordon warned, "Be assured that we will not allow you to roll over our members."

In contrast to the union politics raging within the company, Delta is moving forward with a unified brand strategy to display to its customers. A number of Northwest planes are already flying in the Delta livery, and the airline will debut a single set of uniforms for use by all domestic employees by the end of this month.

FMI: www.delta.com, www.goiam.org, www.afanet.org/