Airline Workers Demand Place at Table in Northwest-Delta Merger

April 25, AFL-CIO

For the past several years, flight attendants, pilots and other airline workers have sacrificed pay, benefits and working conditions through a long series of bankruptcies, restructurings, mergers, layoffs and threatened liquidations. And on Thursday, airline unions told Congress workers must have a voice at the table when the biggest merger in the industry is being discussed.

The proposed merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines would create the nation's largest carrier. But without key protections, the workers at both companies could suffer, and they urged Congress to send a strong message to the carriers that the merger cannot be an excuse to bust unions or abrogate contracts.

Veda Shook, vice president of the Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), pointed out that the merger is taking place at the same time as Delta's 13,500 flight attendants are voting on whether to join AFA-CWA. The union already represents the Northwest flight attendants. Given Delta management's history of anti-union behavior, she called on the airline to remain neutral in the election and asked Congress to monitor the airline's behavior. She said the company has already hired an anti-union consultant to help thwart the workers' desire for a union.

Shook reminded the Task Force on Competition Policy and Antitrust Laws of the House Judiciary Committee that bargaining rights are vital for airline employees to be able to negotiate over the impact of the proposed merger.

"In the context of this merger, the company's anti-union tactics take on added urgency; the merger should not be permitted to become a vehicle for union-busting. There are virtually no protections for airline workers in a merger, and little attention has been paid to the extreme upheaval that mergers create for the thousands of airline employees who find themselves unemployed, whose lives are disrupted, or whose work may be outsourced. The only protection employees have today is through their individual unions and collective bargaining agreements, but there is little to no protection for nonunion airline employees," said Shook.

The pilots at Delta and Northwest are members of the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), and IAM represents Northwest Airlines ramp service employees, store clerks, customer service agents, reservation agents, flight simulator technicians and plant protection employees.

Earlier this week, 26 U.S. senators sent a letter to the CEOs of Delta and Northwest urging both parties to "demonstrate a genuine commitment to cooperative labor relations" and to remain neutral in representation elections. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who led the effort, said:

"Delta and Northwest Airlines should honor the loyalty and hard work of their employees by immediately offering them a seat at the table in merger talks."

Last summer, members of AFA-CWA and the Air Line Pilots conducted an informational picket to demonstrate their anger over Northwest’s manipulation of the bankruptcy laws to allow $1 million bonuses for executives, while employees are being forced to take a 40 percent pay cut.