Flight attendant balloting for Delta employees ends on Wednesday, and the airline industry is paying close attention to the results of the election. Delta's 14,000 flight attendants would be represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, which says that they will negotiate a contract with the company as soon as possible. 16,000 customer service agents begin voting next week, and and 14,000 baggage handlers are casting their ballots now. Delta, which is very non-union, combined with Northwest Airlines in 2008. Northwest had a highly unionized workforce. The impact on Delta could be large if labor costs significantly rise, as low labor costs have given Delta an edge in the past.
See "Delta flight attendants vote on a union", Christopher Hinton, Market Watch, November 2, 2010