Labor & Employment Law

Delta Flight Attendants Union Vote Begins Today

By James Parks

More than 20,000 flight attendants at Delta and Northwest Airlines began voting today on forming a union with the Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA).

As in past campaigns, Delta is running an anti-union drive with fear and misinformation as the focus. But this time, the situation is different. Delta?s 2008 merger with Northwest brought in some 7,000 attendants who are already union members.

What?s more, this election,which  runs through Nov. 3,will be conducted under the National Mediation Board?s new democratic election rules that allow a majority of votes cast to decide the outcome. Under the old rules, if you did not vote, it was counted as a ?No.?

 ?Finally our voice will be heard and fully respected under strong democratic procedures, the same way that other elections are decided in our country,?  flight attendant Toni Weinfurtner says.

We are excited for the opportunity to negotiate an industry-leading contract and continue to work alongside management in building a world class airline. Delta and Northwest flight attendants have waited a long time for this day and are eager to move forward.

Last week, Senate Republicans failed to overturn the new rules. For more information and the latest news on the campaign, visit www.deltaafa.org.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on September 29, 2010 (boomark / email).