Delta Faces Union Contests
As Delta prepares to take the National Mediation Board to court to contest a rule change, union organizers are stepping up their efforts at the airline. The new rule, which goes into effect at the end of June, would change the voting system at airlines. Instead of a non-vote counting as a no vote, all that would be needed to organize would be a majority of those who voted. Delta and Northwest have faced integrating different cultures after their merger, including the heavy unionization at Northwest, and the relative lack at Delta. Pre-merger, 95% of Northwest employees were unionized, while only 15% of Delta employees were. Union organizers have been putting information in staff lounges and visiting employees at home, prompting Delta to accuse the unions of intimidating employees, while insisting that the culture at Delta is one of a "family." Organizers say that the culture that Delta used to have was destroyed with bankruptcy and employee wage and benefit cuts. Analysts estimate that if Delta unionizes, the company could face up to $1.2 billion in increased labor costs. No dates for votes have been scheduled.
See "Delta Faces Union Contests", Mike Esterl, The Wall Street Journal, June 1, 2010