DA.C - View Single Post - AFA to File a Petition With Mediation Board for Election at Delta

Gordon Werner · 08-29-2001, 12:59 PM

Flight Attendants' Union to File a Petition With Mediation Board for Election at Delta

A Wall Street Journal Online News Roundup

ATLANTA -- Delta Air Lines faces another union-organizing drive as the Association of Flight Attendants said it will file a petition with the National Mediation Board to poll the carrier's 20,000 attendants.

"This is four or five years of work coming to a head," David Borer, general counsel for the union, said Monday. "Now, we feel we're ready to win."

The union must present the mediation board with the signatures of 35% of the eligible workers to get an election. Winning the bid to unionize Delta would require more than 50% of the flight attendants returning mailed ballots approving the election. The union will file the petition Wednesday.

Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes said the carrier, the least unionized of the U.S.'s major carriers, expects the employees to reject the union. "The flight attendants currently enjoy the best pay, benefits and working conditions in the industry," she said.

The Association of Flight Attendants represents about 50,000 other flight attendants, including those at UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and US Airways Group Inc.

Only pilots and a handful of other Delta employees currently are unionized. Management has fought vigorously to maintain the company's mostly union-free status, arguing that it gives it more flexibility and a cost advantage over other carriers and shields it from the work slowdowns and strikes that beleaguer many airlines.

But unions have gained some momentum at Delta, particularly since a corporate retrenchment in the mid-1990s shattered a family-like corporate culture and hurt employee morale. Also, flight attendants and other nonunionized employee groups watched closely earlier this year as the Air Line Pilots Association negotiated a new labor contract that makes Delta pilots the best-paid in the industry.

Earlier this month the airline, which also is facing an intense union drive to organize its 10,000 mechanics, unveiled pay raises that will make its mechanics the highest paid in the industry. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association called the move a bald effort to undermine its organizing drive.

Association of Flight Attendants spokeswoman Dawn Deek said ballots would be mailed to Delta's attendants within 60 days of the mediation board's validation of the initial signature cards, and that results of the vote would be tabulated within the following 30 days.

The union said it will hold rallies in Washington, D.C., and other cities Wednesday to showcase its efforts to organize at Delta.

08-29-2001, 12:59 PM	#1
Gordon Werner Insane Collector Join Date: Jun 1998 Location: Somewhere else Age: 37 Posts: 2,059	AFA to File a Petition With Mediation Board for Election at Delta Flight Attendants' Union to File a Petition With Mediation Board for Election at Delta A Wall Street Journal Online News Roundup ATLANTA -- Delta Air Lines faces another union-organizing drive as the Association of Flight Attendants said it will file a petition with the National Mediation Board to poll the carrier's 20,000 attendants. "This is four or five years of work coming to a head," David Borer, general counsel for the union, said Monday. "Now, we feel we're ready to win." The union must present the mediation board with the signatures of 35% of the eligible workers to get an election. Winning the bid to unionize Delta would require more than 50% of the flight attendants returning mailed ballots approving the election. The union will file the petition Wednesday. Delta spokeswoman Peggy Estes said the carrier, the least unionized of the U.S.'s major carriers, expects the employees to reject the union. "The flight attendants currently enjoy the best pay, benefits and working conditions in the industry," she said. The Association of Flight Attendants represents about 50,000 other flight attendants, including those at UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. Only pilots and a handful of other Delta employees currently are unionized. Management has fought vigorously to maintain the company's mostly union-free status, arguing that it gives it more flexibility and a cost advantage over other carriers and shields it from the work slowdowns and strikes that beleaguer many airlines. But unions have gained some momentum at Delta, particularly since a corporate retrenchment in the mid-1990s shattered a family-like corporate culture and hurt employee morale. Also, flight attendants and other nonunionized employee groups watched closely earlier this year as the Air Line Pilots Association negotiated a new labor contract that makes Delta pilots the best-paid in the industry. Earlier this month the airline, which also is facing an intense union drive to organize its 10,000 mechanics, unveiled pay raises that will make its mechanics the highest paid in the industry. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association called the move a bald effort to undermine its organizing drive. Association of Flight Attendants spokeswoman Dawn Deek said ballots would be mailed to Delta's attendants within 60 days of the mediation board's validation of the initial signature cards, and that results of the vote would be tabulated within the following 30 days. The union said it will hold rallies in Washington, D.C., and other cities Wednesday to showcase its efforts to organize at Delta.