Detroit AFA-CWA Newsletter

Earlier this week, the Delta Daily included a link to a March 16th Detroit News article entitled "2 Unions Stall Delta Progress" by business writer, Nathan Hurst. While billed as just another Business Page article, one wonders how much advertising space Delta secured in exchange for this union-bashing "story."

Not a single AFA-CWA spokesperson was contacted to balance the skewed article, a near-verbatim release of Delta P.R. newspeak, planted for exactly this purpose. Delta's subsequent rush to promote the piece in a system-wide newsletter demonstrates how desperately they wish to validate their anti-union ambitions. Publication in the Delta Daily, however, should not be seen as proof of authenticity.

Fact-checking is the backbone of responsible news reporting. Primary protocols of honest journalism include learning historical nuances and the viewpoints of all involved parties. As published, Mr. Hurst's article was simply Delta rhetoric dressed up as news to place false blame on the unions. It appears the writer merely regurgitated a Delta press release that found its way onto his desk.

As published, Mr. Hurst's article was simply Delta rhetoric
dressed up as news to place false blame on the unions.

Starting with the headline, Delta's long-promoted accusations of "union stalling" became a definitive statement by Mr. Hurst's pen. Delta accuses AFA-represented Flight Attendants of stalling the merger process by not calling for an election. This, despite the fact the FAA won't even authorize us to fly together until at least first-quarter 2010—at the earliest!

In the meantime, Delta has accomplished cross-fleeting via AFP and satellite bases. New Delta liveries transform NW aircraft and equipment at hypersonic speed, and airport signage changes virtually overnight. Cabin service and uniforms will be "harmonized" next week. Poof! Even the silverware is changing. A strategic Union decision to wait for the optimal election time clearly doesn't hamper the merger process by any visible means.

Even so, Delta continues to inject misleading Union attributes and allegations of "stalling" into their growing merger lexicon. Oh, and served up with regular, self-fulfilling reminders of how "anxious" everyone is—or ought to be. If only we'd let them fix it, they imply, with their touted "direct relationship."

The Detroit News article repeats Delta's assertion that "Two unions representing more than 16,000 pre-merger Northwest employees -- including thousands in Michigan -- aren't cooperating. That means Delta won't be able to immediately benefit from the estimated $2 billion in cost savings it expected from the merger..." If this impeded—and likely imagined—"progress" is worth $2B, then SHOW US THE MONEY! In a time when airline executives reap extravagant compensation packages with rewards greatly disproportionate to operational success, exactly how do "uncooperative" Flight Attendants stand in the way of such profit?

Absent "uncooperative" unions, what does Delta have planned that will realize such financial gain? We suggest Delta reroute this phantom $2B plus millions spent on union-busting P.R. into wage and benefit increases for both NW and DL Flight Attendants, all of whom suffered devastating paycuts during parallel "yours and mine" bankruptcies. Unfortunately, Delta and their tabloid wordsmith, Nathan Hurst, choose to propagate the idea that you and I somehow stand in the way of profit.

Delta repeats ad nauseam they want to "harmonize" pay and work rules, bringing pre-merger NW flight attendants to Delta's pay scale. Our legally binding contract prevents unilateral pay and work rule cuts, but it certainly doesn't prevent them from raising our wages tomorrow.

The Detroit News quoted one of Delta's so-called principles: "Delta respects its employees' right to decide if union representation is right for them and we strongly believe the Northwest unions should also respect that choice -- a choice most Northwest employees have never had the opportunity to make."

We remind them, Delta conveniently ignores the fact that throughout the years, Northwest Flight Attendants have repeatedly and overwhelmingly demonstrated the democratic strength of our resolve to preserve union advocacy in our workplace. In fact, this will be the third such opportunity since 2002.

More importantly, know that we, too, respect the right to choose. However, for democracy to mean anything, choices demand education. Flight Attendants from both liveries should take time now to gather information from more than one source, before an election is called. Delta wants the ballot to be wrapped up now--before our new colleagues interact with us and have an opportunity to weigh facts that may be new to them. Before we share and compare all around, and ultimately, make fully informed decisions. Do you think Delta fears their Flight Attendants might discover they've been misled by a steady career diet of anti-union corporate misinformation?

Flight Attendants from both liveries should take time now to gather
information from more than one source, before an election is called.

Apparently a victim of misinformation himself, Hurst stated that unions at Northwest are "hoping for passage of legislation before Congress allowing unions to claim representation after collecting cards but without a subsequent election -- dubbed Employee Free Choice Act..." While AFA-CWA supports the EFCA, a simple Google search would reveal that aviation and railway employees are not affected by its passage. The EFCA will impact workers whose bargaining rights are overseen by the National Labor Relations Act. Flight attendant's representational issues are governed by the Railway Labor Act (RLA.)

AFA-CWA and your Local 94 Officers do not intend to respond in a cat and mouse fashion to every provocation from Delta executives or their union-busting machine. We will, however, continue to speak up and communicate the rest of the story in the wake of unconcealed editorial bias masquerading as "news."