Ends 60 Years Of Representation For Northwest FAs

In a vote held among flight attendants working for Delta, just over half voted against union representation, handing a defeat to the AFA-CWA.

The union said it was "extremely disappointed" that the Delta flight attendants had declined to join. For the first time in 60 years, FAs with Northwest Airlines are without representation. Delta and Northwest merged in 2008.

Media sources including Tthe Wall Street Journal and Minneapolis Star Tribune indicate that the vote was close, with just 328 votes separating the yeas from the nays. Over 19,000 flight attendants cast ballots in the election which bean September 29.

The AFA-CWA reportedly will ask the National Mediation Board to investigate allegations that Delta "interfered" with the process through e-mail, regular mail, and "intimidating contact" with workers. One Delta flight attendant called it "fear-mongering and intimidation."

But another who had helped organize a "No Way AFA" campaign told the Star Tribune that as a group, Delta flight attendants "cannot be higher than our planes fly."

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