USA Today had a story on how Delta is about to see several union votes in the coming months. Historically, Delta has been the one non-union legacy airline in the United States with just the pilots unionized.  Accordingly, Delta’s labor groups have enjoyed great flexibility and have avoided some of the rather harsh and (in my opinion) unfair treatment that many other groups at other airlines experience. 

Flight attendants at Delta don’t spend a decade unable to hold a line, for instance.  All employees have shared in the wealth of the airline in good times through both raises and stock plans.   As legacy airlines go, Delta is a pretty great place to work all in all.  No company is without its warts and no company avoids the odd period of poor management and Delta has both. 

Changes in labor union law for airlines have now made it a bit more advantageous to try to unionize groups one more time.  In the past, failure to vote (for any reason) was interpreted as a “no” vote.  Now, simple majority of those who did vote are all that is required to win a vote.  In the past, Delta flight attendants have rejected attempts to unionize both by explicitely voting no as well as just not voting.  Labor leaders think that this time, they can win.

And perhaps they can.  Delta now has Northwest Airlines’ 7000+ flight attendants under the same roof now and that is a very militant group.  It’s possible that combined with the rather stark minority of Delta flight attendants they could win this if anti-union flight attendants don’t explicitely vote “no” to this latest attempt.  Frankly, I don’t think this is as sure a thing as labor leaders seem to think.  Flight attendants may be many things but one thing they aren’t is stupid.  I think that instead of just not voting to say “no”, they’ll simply vote “no”.  They appear to remain in the majority right now and there is one thing that perhaps is being overlooked.

A lot of those Northwest FAs have now experienced the Delta Way.  They may be battle hardened and militant but I wonder how some may feel after spending some time in the Delta system and discovering a kinder, gentler company that rewards performance.  There may actually be some erosion in those ranks.

Make no mistake:  The risk for Delta is mighty here.  If there labor force becomes all union all the time, costs will go up considerably and for the world’s largest airline, that could reverse current profits pretty fast.  Those costs won’t go up just because of renegotiated labor contracts raising salaries either.  I’m certain the unions will introduce work rules that limit the flexibility that Delta current enjoys.  Limits equal higher costs. 

So far, Delta’s management is doing the right thing.  They’re making the argument that employees are treated exceptionally well at Delta and that changing something that has been very good for both parties can almost certainly result in something that is ultimately bad for both parties.  In fact, their arguments seem both articulate and intelligent and don’t appear to insult the intelligence of Delta employees nor do they appear to threaten either. 

Time will tell in this arena.  You can bet that both ContiUnited and American Airlines will be watching closely and even celebrating with glee if the worst happens.

Filed under: Airline News by ajax