WASHINGTON — Today, the National Mediation Board will mail ballots to Delta Air Lines flight attendants for the largest union election in airline history.
The Delta vote is also the largest private-sector union election in more than 30 years, with nearly 20,000 flight attendants involved. Delta’s flight attendants are the only crew members at a major carrier who do not have union representation. The vote comes in the wake of the airline tragedy of September 11th and the recent loss of American Airlines Flight 587. The past few months have been a time when flight attendants nationwide are grappling with emotional and safety issues, and the industry is reeling from the economic fallout.
“While we are all still coping with the shock of September 11th, flight attendants everywhere understand that now, more than ever, we must stand together for our safety and well-being,” said Patricia Friend, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants, AFL-CIO. “This election at Delta gives the flight attendants a chance for a real voice at work to deal with these difficult times.”
“There have been a lot of changes at Delta. We’ve lost more than 4,000 flight attendant positions because of leaves and early retirements,” Silviano Blan, a New York City-based Delta flight attendant said. “We don’t know what will change next. We’re all thinking about our futures, our jobs, our lives. I believe that winning this election and standing together as flight attendants is the best thing we can do to protect our future.”
“While the landscape may have changed, the reasons that flight attendants want a union have not,” said Emily Ceshker, an Atlanta-based Delta flight attendant. “This election is about respect, and our ability to act together in the interests of our passengers and ourselves,” she said. “The world clearly saw how dangerous our jobs can be. I want an effective voice at work so I can fight for our safety in the air and for a better quality of life at Delta.”
Ballots are being mailed from and returned to Chicago because of concerns about anthrax in the mail of Washington. The NMB has extended the usual 30-day deadline for returning ballots by nearly a month to Jan. 30, 2002 and the ballots will be counted on Feb. 1.