Claim: “AFA has the experience and ability to complete negotiations within a year”
Reality: This is misleading. AFA recently claimed it has the experience and ability to complete negotiations within a year of the representation vote, but its negotiations for workgroups much smaller than what we have at Delta have taken a lot longer.
Negotiations in the airline industry are complex and lengthy and include many steps before you even make it to the negotiating table. During this process, there are typically few improvements to your work life meaning your pay, benefits, and work rules may remain the same.
We are not aware of any example where AFA has completed negotiations within a year for a workgroup the size of Delta flight attendants. In fact, during the first sixteen months of current contract negotiations with United, AFA only reached a tentative agreement for one out of 33 sections of the contract.
Negotiations for much smaller workgroups have taken years, just look at these examples:
AFA negotiated for 3.5 years for a first contract for 366 GoJet flight attendants.
AFA negotiated for 6 years for a first contract at Omni for only 400 flight attendants.
AFA negotiated for 9 years at Spirit for only 2,200 flight attendants (on a second contract).
With more than 24,000 flight attendants at Delta, assembling a first contract is not likely to be as quick or easy as AFA wants you to believe. Our direct relationship allows us to address issues and implement changes faster than AFA has at other airlines.
To learn more about how lengthy and complex the negotiations process can be, watch this video about the steps before negotiations and this video to find out what it takes to reach a contract.
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Stay in the know.
Text DELTA to +1 205 846 8096 for updates*
*By texting the keyword above, you are agreeing to receive periodic SMS text messages from Delta Air Lines regarding One Future. One Delta. Standard messaging and data rates may apply. You may unsubscribe any time by texting “STOP” and the keyword above to +1 205 846 8096. Full Terms.