By admin 
Take skift
Delta’s non-union flight attendants could make another attempt to organize “within a few months,” said Sara Nelson, head of a 55,000-member union. Nelson cited broader public support for labor as a driving force for change.
Sean O’Neill
Stewardesses at Delta Airlines A new push for union organizing could soon come as broader public support for organized labor builds momentum, according to the head of America’s largest flight attendant union.
Sarah Nelsoninternational chairman of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIOsaid Tuesday that developments in Delta’s long-running campaign to organize cabin crew could emerge “within a few months.”
“The big change today is that we have a positive public view of unions,” Nelson said on stage Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas-Fort Worth. “They are one of the most popular things in the country.”
Nelson, who represents 55,000 members at 20 airlines, cited stronger support from community organizations and elected officials in Delta’s headquarters city of Atlanta and the pro-union views of Generation Z as factors that could tip the balance after three failed attempts in a few decades to organize a union for airline flight attendants.
Priorities for flight attendants
Nelson said Delta’s recent decision to pay flight attendants for boarding time — unique among major U.S. airlines — was a direct response to pressure from unions.
But she told Skift editor-in-chief Sarah Kopit that this was also driven by the airline’s efforts to attract and retain Gen Z talent. Many younger employees have different expectations about pay and working conditions.
The initiative has since expanded elsewhere, with “better terms” laid out in contracts at American Airlines Group and an ongoing agreement at Alaska Air Group, Nelson said.
Nelson highlighted a handful of priorities from other unions, including:
- A two-tiered wage system that pays workers at regional airlines about 45% less than workers at major airlines
- Concerns about health and working conditions, including radiation exposure. “We have a much higher cancer rate among flight attendants,” she said.
- Harmonization of regulations between countries, especially in the field of safety.
What flight attendants won
In response to concerns that unions are driving up costs and harming the passenger experience, Nelson argued that union interests have historically improved safety and service, citing the elimination of in-flight smoking and pesticide spraying as examples.
“Regulation, if properly implemented, can improve safety standards so that everyone can comply,” Nelson said. “It’s pro-competitive because it raises standards for everyone.”
The union chief pointed to the response to the pandemic as evidence of the value of organized labor, and cited previous union-backed safety training for helping protect flight attendants during the pandemic.
Nelson also highlighted the union’s role in securing federal payrolls, which kept airline workers on the job during the crisis. The program kept airline workers tied to their wages, health care and other benefits for 16 months and prohibited stock buybacks for a period of time.
Nelson – who was recently appointed chairman of the Civil Aviation Department International Federation of Transport Workerswhich represents 5 million aviation workers worldwide – said labor campaigns often help companies and customers as much as employees.
“Passengers wouldn’t have the cabin safety they do if it weren’t for our union,” Nelson said. “There’s not just a vending machine and ‘Take care of yourself.’”
Performance of the aviation sector stock index since the beginning of the year
What am I looking at? The performance of aviation sector stocks within the ST200. The index includes companies that are publicly traded on global markets, including network providers, low-cost airlines and other related companies.
The Skift Travel 200 (ST200) combines the financial performance of nearly 200 travel companies valued at more than a trillion dollars into one figure. View more financial performance of the aviation sector.
Read the full methodology behind the Skift Travel 200.