IAM Delta Campaign Lands in London

ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton meets with Delta Air Lines Flight Attendants to let them know the ITF fully supports their efforts to gain IAM representation. Left to right, Cotton and Delta Flight Attendants, Dawn Peterson, Don McBryde, Masayo Tyner and Marianne Bicksler.

Illustrating the global reach of the IAM’s Delta Flight Attendant organizing campaign, IAM Delta organizers this week were greeted with tremendous support as campaign activities expanded to London.

Dozens of Delta Flight Attendants on layover signed election authorization cards at IAM visibility events far away from Delta management’s intimidating eyes. Unionized Flight Attendants from American Airlines, Air France and Iberia Regional also stopped by to offer their support and encouragement to Delta Flight Attendants.

“Delta has a history of surveilling their employees interested in unions,” said IAM Transportation General Vice President Sito Pantoja. “Hosting unannounced card-signing events outside the United States has proven very successful and is helping propel our campaign toward an election.”??

Representatives from the London-based International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), a global federation of 700 unions representing over 4.5 million transportation workers, also met with Delta Flight Attendants to show their support for the IAM’s campaign.

“Delta is the largest anti-union airline in the U.S. and in the global aviation industry,” said ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton, who attended one of the IAM’s events. “Airline workers everywhere will benefit when Delta employees are unionized.”

	UNITE, a British ITF affiliate, was on hand to show support for the IAM Delta campaign. Left to right, John Pigotti, British Airways Flight Attendant; Julianna Helminski, Delta Flight Attendant; Sue Kimber, Thompson Airways Branch Chair; Ashley Hawkins, Virgin Atlantic Reps Committee and Gaynor Worrell, Virgin Atlantic Reps Committee.

The ITF’s Cabin Crew Committee recently passed a resolution supporting the IAM’s campaign.

“This is the second IAM Delta event in which we participated,” added ITF Civil Aviation Secretary Gabriel Mocho. “We are eager to welcome Delta Ground Staff and Cabin Crew into the global union community.”

IAM Delta activists were invited to discuss their global campaign with national civil aviation leaders from UNITE, the U.K.’s largest union with more than 1.42 million members. UNITE is also Europe’s largest Flight Attendant union, representing more than 30,000 Flight Attendants at British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Thomas Cook, easyJet and others.

“We fully support Delta Cabin Crew in their goal to have a voice in setting their wages, benefits and working conditions,” said UNITE Civil Aviation National Officer Oliver Richardson. “Delta Cabin Crew deserve the same advantages of a collective bargaining agreement that Flight Attendants across the globe enjoy.”

“More Delta Flight Attendants have signed election authorization cards during this campaign than in any previous campaign,” said Pantoja. “I am confident that we will soon be moving from card collection to voting so Delta Flight Attendants can finally have the voice and protections that come from being part of the IAM family.”

The IAM is the world’s largest airline union. More information about the IAM’s campaign to organize Delta Air Lines’ 20,000 Flight Attendants is available at iamdelta.net. Updates about the IAM’s campaign for Delta’s Fleet Service employees are available here.

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