A flight attendants union on Wednesday lost its all-or-nothing fight to cover those workers at Delta Air Lines Inc.
The results showed that almost 48 percent of Delta flight attendants voted in favor of joining the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. They needed a majority.
Until now, the AFA represented flight attendants who came from Northwest Airlines when Delta bought it in 2008. Those who were with Delta before the purchase were non-union. Now that Northwest and Delta are a single airline, the vote was needed to resolve the union issue for the combined group. Of Delta's 20,000 flight attendants, roughly 7,000 came from Northwest.
"In the face of the largest anti-union campaign this country has ever seen, the Delta flight attendants came within 328 votes of certifying a union," said Patricia Friend, the union's president.
Voting is now under way for two large groups of Delta ground workers who are considering whether to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
"In difficult economic times, workers are cautious about joining unions because there's always the implied or overt assertion by management that, 'If you vote for a union — thereby, tie our hands — we will ultimately have to lay off more people,' " said Nelson Lichtenstein, a professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Delta shares jumped 56 cents, or 4 percent, to $14.41 immediately after the vote result was released, after trading roughly flat earlier in the day.
In the short run, the vote could raise Delta labor costs. Delta's non-union flight attendants made more than their counterparts who came from Northwest. Delta said it intends to raise pay to the same level for all flight attendants.
"We have said all along that we believe our direct relationship works well for our people and our company. Our flight attendants have spoken and we are pleased that so many flight attendants agree," the company said in a written statement.
Friend, the union president, blamed Delta's "heavy-handed intimidation and coercion of voters" for the loss.
"They stopped at nothing to keep Delta flight attendants from gaining a voice and advancing their profession," she said in a written statement.
With additional reporting by NPR's Jim Zarroli
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAzMjM2NDYzMDEyMzc1Njk5NjAxNzY3OQ001))
