45,000 Nonunion Workers Represented at Unofficial Delta Summit

The Delta MEC played host to a meeting with fellow stakeholders, employees, and organizers to go over the state of the industry ahead of the 2023 holiday season. 

Delta pilots’ contract update last spring made it the envy of the industry for a brief time, and the Master Executive Council sought to carry that momentum into the rest of the company family in a recent meeting with heads of other employee groups. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA), the International Association of Machinists Aerospace Workers (IAM) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters each had representatives on hand to speak with the coalition. In all, the groups represent more than 45,000 nonunionized Delta employees.
 
“Management talks about the Delta family as part of our corporate culture, but it’s the employees who are the true long-term stakeholders at our airline,” said Delta MEC chair Capt. Darren Hartmann. “Frontline workers have a collective interest in supporting each other’s goals and helping address issues that we all face. There is truly strength in numbers.”

“This is the first in a series of ongoing meetings and other opportunities to support our fellow employees. While the pilots and dispatchers have the benefit of contractual protections, we understand the uphill battle union organizers face when trying to connect with Delta’s frontline workers. Delta management has historically fought off unionization efforts with platitudes of a corporate culture that fosters a ‘direct relationship’ with its workers,” said Hartmann. “However, it is union-negotiated contracts that protect employees’ pay, working conditions, and a sustainable work/life balance from a management team that may be more interested in the shareholders’ bottom line.”

FMI: www.alpa.org