03 November 2009

Withdrawal Petition  |  Press Release

This afternoon, Delta and Northwest flight attendant leaders from our joint Campaign Coordinating Committee withdrew its petition for a single-carrier determination at Delta, in anticipation of the new voting procedure before an election is called by the NMB. There is a 60-day comment period before a ruling will be made.

Delta-AFA applauds the National Mediation Board proposal to amend its rules to make voting for representation in the transportation industry more democratic - with the majority of those voting deciding the outcome.

"It would be unfair to put Delta flight attendants through an election under the old rules when more democratic rules for voting could be in place by the time the NMB sets an election at Delta," said Angela Winningham, pre-merger Delta flight attendant and campaign activist."  Delta-AFA has a responsibility to ensure that flight attendants have the same democratic rights as other employees.'

There is no vote pending at Delta. We filed a petition July 27 seeking single-carrier designation for Delta, a prelude to a vote for representation, but the NMB has yet to act on it. Withdrawing the petition just makes sense, given the imminent rule change and the lengthy election process - three-and-a-half months last time.

We have long held, as the NMB majority did in its announcement, that "this change to its election procedures will provide a more reliable measure/indicator of employee sentiment in representation disputes and provide employees with clear choices in representation matters."

For too long, employees have been required to gain the votes of 50 percent plus 1 of every person in the bargaining unit, which means that employees who did not vote were counted as "No" votes. This is a form of compulsory voting that is patently undemocratic, as the NMB majority noted in announcing the rulemaking.

"A system of compulsory voting or assigning a position to those who choose not to vote denies individuals the right to abstain from participating in an election, a right available in other democratic elections in this country," the NMB majority said.

Flight attendants are eager to vote on representation, as we stated in our July 27 filing for a single-carrier determination, but we want a fair election. We urge Delta Air Lines to agree to an immediate vote under the proposed new rules in which a majority of voters can decide on representation.

If Delta executives genuinely respect their employees’ right to decide on this issue, they will support the truly democratic procedure the NMB is proposing. This is how we can work together to build Delta into the world’s premier airline.