NMB Begins IAM Fleet Service Election at Delta
October 14, 2010
Quick links+
In one of the largest union elections in airline history, the National Mediation Board (NMB) today began mailing voting instructions to more than 14,000 Fleet Service workers at Delta Air Lines.
The election gives Delta employees an opportunity to secure bargaining rights and a contract that provides job security, guaranteed wage rates and a defined benefit pension that is not subject to the volatile uncertainties of Wall Street.
The five-week voting period, which concludes on Nov. 18, 2010, will be conducted under new NMB guidelines, which allow all votes to be counted as cast, rather than the previous method, which tallied any vote not cast as a “no” vote.
The historic election follows a nationwide IAM campaign that overcame fierce resistance from Delta management, including lawsuits designed to block the new, more democratic voting guidelines.
Eligible voters in the election include more than 4,900 former Northwest Airline Fleet Service employees, who became Delta employees following the 2008 merger of Delta and Northwest.
NMB rules mandate union representation elections in the event of such a merger, despite the fact that Northwest workers have enjoyed IAM representation and legally binding contracts for more than a half century.
The NMB has also scheduled representation elections for Delta employees in the carrier’s Passenger Service and Stock & Stores classifications.
To support the campaign, the IAM is conducting a three-day, six-city tour to urge workers at Delta Air Lines to vote “YES” for the IAM in elections now underway.
Joined by community leaders in each location, IAM rallies are taking place in New York, Memphis, Atlanta, Detroit, Cincinnati and Minneapolis to highlight the importance of good paying jobs to local communities.
More information and a schedule of the three-day tour is available at www.IAM4Delta.org.
