Flight attendants at Delta Air Lines narrowly rejected union representation in the first of three votes to organize the majority of employees at the world's second largest airline.
The results, announced shortly after the close of voting Wednesday, were 9,544 votes against the union, and 9,216 in favor of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) or other unions. The margin was 328 votes, or 1.7 percent.
AFA President Pat Friend said Delta's management ran "the largest anti-union campaign that this country has ever seen" and the union would challenge the fairness of the election and seek a revote. Delta rejected the union's claims as "ridiculous" and said it looked forward to integrating its workforce two years after the merger of mostly nonunion Delta and heavily unionized Northwest Airlines
If the result stands, it means that 7,200 former Northwest flight attendants, including 1,900 based in Minnesota, will no longer be represented by the union or be covered by their existing contract. Delta said it will announce a transition plan for those workers at a later date.
More than 93 percent of Delta's 20,100 flight attendants voted in the election, which has been underway since Sept. 29 by telephone and the Internet.
At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, a major Delta hub, some flight attendants stepping off parking shuttle buses Wednesday afternoon expressed sorrow and disbelief that their union could disappear.
"They said we have to take off our union pins -- now," said Mary Beth Balzart, a 23-year flight attendant who burst into tears as she entered the Lindbergh Terminal and reached for the tiny white AFA pin on her uniform. "It's just really sad. Not only did we lose Northwest Airlines, but now we also lost our union."
Several workers who supported the union were fearful of saying anything, or declined to give their names. Union opponents showed less reserve.
The results, announced shortly after the close of voting Wednesday, were 9,544 votes against the union, and 9,216 in favor of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) or other unions. The margin was 328 votes, or 1.7 percent.
AFA President Pat Friend said Delta's management ran "the largest anti-union campaign that this country has ever seen" and the union would challenge the fairness of the election and seek a revote. Delta rejected the union's claims as "ridiculous" and said it looked forward to integrating its workforce two years after the merger of mostly nonunion Delta and heavily unionized Northwest Airlines
If the result stands, it means that 7,200 former Northwest flight attendants, including 1,900 based in Minnesota, will no longer be represented by the union or be covered by their existing contract. Delta said it will announce a transition plan for those workers at a later date.
More than 93 percent of Delta's 20,100 flight attendants voted in the election, which has been underway since Sept. 29 by telephone and the Internet.
At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, a major Delta hub, some flight attendants stepping off parking shuttle buses Wednesday afternoon expressed sorrow and disbelief that their union could disappear.
"They said we have to take off our union pins -- now," said Mary Beth Balzart, a 23-year flight attendant who burst into tears as she entered the Lindbergh Terminal and reached for the tiny white AFA pin on her uniform. "It's just really sad. Not only did we lose Northwest Airlines, but now we also lost our union."
Several workers who supported the union were fearful of saying anything, or declined to give their names. Union opponents showed less reserve.
"Delta has been good to us without a union," said Suzette Klein, an 11-year flight attendant who voted against the union. Another "no" vote, Helena Luke, who has worked for Delta for four years, said, "I'm happy that there is no union. They tend to slow down progress. So I say, onward and upward."
In Atlanta, Mathew Palmer, a Delta flight attendant who helped organize the "No Way AFA" campaign that included rallies, a Facebook page and a website, was jubilant. "We as a group cannot be higher than our planes fly,'' he said.
Palmer said many former Northwest flight attendants believed the union had failed them. "They have a contract, yes, but what is that contract worth?" he said, noting that Delta workers' pay exceeded that of pre-merger Northwest attendants under their union contract. "So it really makes you question, what value is this union I have?"
Delta, based in Atlanta, had 12,900 non-union flight attendants before the merger with Northwest. The airline's other hubs are in Detroit, Memphis, New York, Salt Lake City and Cincinnati. This is the third time the AFA has lost a union election at Delta since 2002.
The decision by Delta flight attendants was the first of three winner-take-all union votes that affect 50,000 Delta workers. Two other elections that wrap up in the next two weeks will determine whether baggage and cargo handlers and passenger agents -- long unionized at Northwest, but not at Delta -- will be represented by the International Association of Machinists.
Delta Air Lines has long been among the least unionized of the major carriers. Delta's pilots and flight dispatchers have unions, but the airline's record of paying well has largely kept other unions out. The Northwest merger brought its heavily unionized workforce to Delta, creating an untenable mix of union and nonunion workers that is being resolved in these showdown elections.
Union leaders said they will ask the National Mediation Board to investigate allegations that Delta interfered with the election through mailings, e-mail, intimidating contacts with workers and a breach of voting secrecy on company computers.
In Atlanta, Mathew Palmer, a Delta flight attendant who helped organize the "No Way AFA" campaign that included rallies, a Facebook page and a website, was jubilant. "We as a group cannot be higher than our planes fly,'' he said.
Palmer said many former Northwest flight attendants believed the union had failed them. "They have a contract, yes, but what is that contract worth?" he said, noting that Delta workers' pay exceeded that of pre-merger Northwest attendants under their union contract. "So it really makes you question, what value is this union I have?"
Delta, based in Atlanta, had 12,900 non-union flight attendants before the merger with Northwest. The airline's other hubs are in Detroit, Memphis, New York, Salt Lake City and Cincinnati. This is the third time the AFA has lost a union election at Delta since 2002.
The decision by Delta flight attendants was the first of three winner-take-all union votes that affect 50,000 Delta workers. Two other elections that wrap up in the next two weeks will determine whether baggage and cargo handlers and passenger agents -- long unionized at Northwest, but not at Delta -- will be represented by the International Association of Machinists.
Delta Air Lines has long been among the least unionized of the major carriers. Delta's pilots and flight dispatchers have unions, but the airline's record of paying well has largely kept other unions out. The Northwest merger brought its heavily unionized workforce to Delta, creating an untenable mix of union and nonunion workers that is being resolved in these showdown elections.
Union leaders said they will ask the National Mediation Board to investigate allegations that Delta interfered with the election through mailings, e-mail, intimidating contacts with workers and a breach of voting secrecy on company computers.
It could take months for the federal agency that oversaw the election to investigate the union charges and determine whether another vote is justified. Earlier this year, another Delta union won a revote for the airline's flight simulator technicians because of management interference, though the workers still rejected the union in the second election.
Delta said interference charges are common after union elections. "The AFA clearly plans to continue its fear-and-smear campaign, even after our flight attendants have decided," it said in a statement.
The AFA last month complained to the mediation board that Delta encouraged flight attendants to use the airline's computers to vote, a possible breach of ballot secrecy. But Delta, in a statement, said airline computers also were used to vote in the 2008 AFA election, and nobody complained.
dshaffer@startribune.com • 612-673-7090 dee.depass@startribune.com • 612-673-7725
Delta said interference charges are common after union elections. "The AFA clearly plans to continue its fear-and-smear campaign, even after our flight attendants have decided," it said in a statement.
The AFA last month complained to the mediation board that Delta encouraged flight attendants to use the airline's computers to vote, a possible breach of ballot secrecy. But Delta, in a statement, said airline computers also were used to vote in the 2008 AFA election, and nobody complained.
dshaffer@startribune.com • 612-673-7090 dee.depass@startribune.com • 612-673-7725
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