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ATLANTA, Jan. 12, 2024 – Delta Air Lines workers, in collaboration with the IAM, Teamsters, AFA-CWA, community, and labor allies, will take part in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative March and Rally in Atlanta on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The workers will honor the legacy of Dr. King and advocate for workers’ rights and call on Delta Air Lines leadership to cease its anti-union campaign.
IAM International President Brian Bryant and IAM Air Transport Territory General Vice President Richie Johnsen will attend the march and rally.
Where: Baker and Peachtree streets
When: Monday, Jan. 15, 2024, 1:15 p.m.
Who: Delta Air Lines workers, IAM, Teamsters, AFA-CWA, community, and labor allies
Why: Honor the legacy of Dr. King and advocate for workers’ rights, call on Delta Air Lines to cease its anti-union campaign, and ensure a fair and free union election.
Approximately 55,000 Delta employees are actively engaged in organizing efforts to join unions. Mechanics and related workers are seeking affiliation with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, while ramp, cargo, and tower workers are pursuing membership in the IAM. Delta flight attendants are also organizing for representation with the Association of Flight Attendants.
Delta Air Lines has a long history of union-busting. In recent years, the company has spent millions of dollars on anti-union consultants and lawyers. The company has also fired and disciplined workers for union activities.
Delta Air Lines management has threatened employees with termination for union activities. It hosts an anti-union website and distributes literature threatening workers seeking to organize. Delta also spent approximately $38 million to oppose a flight attendant union campaign in 2010. Its anti-union activities have caused brand damage, including broad media coverage of a 2019 anti-union flier that told employees to spend money on video games instead of union dues.
In a recent historic visit, Delta Air Lines workers explored the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. This location holds significance as the site of a pivotal struggle in 1968, where over 1,000 Black sanitation workers fought for dignity and union rights against the white power structure. It is also where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was tragically assassinated while advocating for the human rights, civil rights and union rights of these workers.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is among the largest industrial trade unions in North America and represents nearly 600,000 active and retired members in the manufacturing, aerospace, defense, airlines, transportation, shipbuilding, woodworking, health care, and other industries.
