Unions Dig In for Delta Flight
According to AJC.com:
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents about 12,000 employees at Northwest, has opened an office in Atlanta across the street from Delta's headquarters for its ongoing campaign to organize Delta employees.
A union wanting to represent a segment of Delta's employees must get signed authorization cards from 35 percent of the workers involved to force an election.
And at the Association of Flight Attendants, committees of flight attendants from Delta and Northwest are working on a campaign to try again to organize the attendants at Delta after the merger is complete.
The flight attendants union lost an election to unionize Delta's flight attendants in May. They plan to file for another election after Northwest and Delta combine. Flight attendants from both airlines would vote in a combined election on whether to be unionized. Northwest has about 7,000 flight attendants; Delta has about 14,000.
"If this merger goes through and there is to be another election, this will be one of the largest union elections in the country," Association of Flight Attendants spokeswoman Corey Caldwell said. Northwest flight attendants "have a lot to lose if they lose their contract," she said.
Only one major group at Delta is represented by a union — its 7,000 pilots. About 200 dispatchers also are unionized. Northwest employees are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Association of Flight Attendants, International Association of Machinists, Transport Workers Union, Aircraft Technical Support Association, Northwest Airlines Meteorologist Association and Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, among others..click to continue.
