Rumor Has It: December 2024
Note: “Rumor Has It” is a biweekly newsletter sent to Delta flight attendants about a range of topics from company policies to questions about flight benefits and what is happening around the industry. Delta occasionally addresses questions in Rumor Has It related to AFA’s organizing efforts. For ease of reference, those questions and answers have been included below.
From December 19, 2024 Edition
RUMOR: AFA says they are not a “third party” because we would make up the union.
FACT: This is misleading. AFA is a national organization (external to Delta) with its own leadership structure. Consider the following and decide for yourself if AFA feels like a third party and how much control you would have:
- You don’t choose who represents you on the negotiating committee. That decision is made by the Master Executive Council (MEC).
- You don’t elect the officers of the MEC – the Local Executive Council (LEC) Presidents make that decision. You would only vote for the LEC leaders at your base.
- You don’t directly elect AFA national leaders. Those are chosen by a Board of Directors that is made up of LEC Presidents of each airline (not just Delta). In fact, the AFA Board of Directors recently voted down a proposal to give flight attendants a direct vote on MEC and national leaders.
- You don’t choose how much you pay in dues – AFA makes that decision for you. If you don’t pay dues, it may cost you your job.
- You don’t vote on changes to the AFA Constitution and Bylaws that govern all AFA members.
QUESTION: Why can’t we just try out AFA? If we don’t like them, we can always vote them out.
ANSWER: There’s virtually no going back to non-union status if life with AFA isn’t what you hoped it would be. The process for “decertifying” a union is not simple and no workgroup as large as ours has ever returned to non-union status after voting in a union.
AFA also makes it difficult for any member to even try to replace the union. Per Article 10 of the AFA Constitution and Bylaws: a member can be fined, suspended, or expelled for being disloyal to AFA, attempting to replace it, or doing any act that AFA deems is contrary to its best interests.
RUMOR: AFA said Delta’s last Rumor Has It about PPT is wrong. They claim other airlines have contracts that do include a separate sick leave bank, vacation, and a Paid Personal Time (PPT) program like Delta’s.
FACT: AFA continues to mislead Delta flight attendants by not differentiating between paid time off and unpaid personal time off.
At United, the AFA-negotiated “PTO” program does not stand for “paid time off,” but “personal time off.” It is an unpaid day off that “may be made up during the month taken if authorized by Inflight Scheduling.” This is nothing like Delta’s paid PPT.
AFA also referenced Southwest’s “Personal Illness Note (PIN),” which is not a separate paid bank. It has limited use to reduce attendance points related to certain sick calls and isn’t available year round. Any payment comes from the same sick bank as any other sick call.
AFA has never negotiated a package that includes a separate sick leave bank, vacation, and an additional Paid Personal Time program like Delta’s.
RUMOR: I heard AFA can force Delta to ensure my paycheck is always accurate.
FACT: Nothing in the contract AFA negotiated with United (or any other airline) guarantees that pay errors will not occur.
At Delta, every effort is made to ensure paychecks are accurate and timely. However, errors may occur from time to time. This is true for all airlines.
If questions arise, Delta flight attendants can reach out to their leaders, the IFS PayDesk, or the Employee Service Center to obtain support. Delta works to correct the error as quickly as possible, even with the immediate issuance of off-cycle checks.
For AFA-represented flight attendants at United, the initial resolution process is largely the same. If an issue occurs, the flight attendant notifies the Company. As described in Section 3, BB.6 of the contract, a United flight attendant can wait up to five business days for a special check, have the funds included on the next scheduled paycheck, or have United consider their issue on a case-by-case basis.
RUMOR: AFA says if we had a contract, we would know when our next pay raise is.
FACT: This is misleading. AFA-represented flight attendants at United haven’t had a pay raise since 2021 and are still waiting to find out when it will come as they enter their fourth year of negotiations. APFA-represented flight attendants at American recently waited five years without knowing when their next pay raise would be.
With a union, pay raises are usually only negotiated for the length of the contract. Once the contract is amendable, there are often no pay raises during the negotiations process, which can take years.
From December 10, 2024 Edition
QUESTION: Someone told me I should fill out an A-Card to get more information about AFA. Is that all it is?
ANSWER: No. Signing an A-Card means you want a union at Delta and a third party to speak for you. It is not simply a request for more information about AFA.
If at least 50% of eligible employees in IFS sign A-Cards, AFA can call for an election to represent the entire workgroup at Delta. And if you change your mind, AFA has no obligation to return your A-Card – once AFA has it, it belongs to the union and it’s valid for one year.
In an election, the majority of those who vote would make the decision for everyone. If AFA were to become the representative of Delta flight attendants, we would become involved in a union negotiations process that often takes years without pay increases or other improvements.
If you are not ready to vote for AFA, don’t sign an authorization card.
RUMOR: I read that with a contract, the AFA will protect what we like and get us even more.
FACT: AFA often claims they can “lock in” what you have right now and negotiate even more, but no one can guarantee the outcome of negotiations.
Negotiations are a “give and take” – for any one item, the end result may be better, worse, or the same as what you have today. Everything is on the table, including A-Days, scheduling, flying flexibility, and pay, among other elements of your existing package. Ultimately, both the union and Delta must agree on all of the individual items in a contract.
QUESTION: I’m getting calls and texts from AFA – how did they get my information?
ANSWER: Some flight attendants have recently shared that they are upset about receiving unwanted text messages and phone calls from AFA. Collecting phone numbers and other personal information and engaging in unsolicited messaging is a common part of union organizing.
Union representatives may have obtained this personal information from your peers or public records – Delta would not disclose your information.
You have the right to say no and be left alone. You can tell AFA to remove you from their lists and not contact you anymore.
RUMOR: I read that AFA said Delta doesn’t offer sick pay and United flight attendants accrue up to 1,250 hours for their sick leave. AFA says they can fix that.
FACT: This is misleading. Delta’s Paid Personal Time (PPT) program provides more flexibility for our flight attendants than United’s “sick leave” bank. Some things to keep in mind:
- Delta’s PPT can be used for any reason – it’s not just limited to sick time. You can also cash it out each year. United doesn’t offer either of these options.
- AFA failed to mention that United flight attendants have to work 26 years without using a single day of sick time to accrue that amount.
- The “personal time” at United consists of unpaid trip drops, not a paid bank like PPT. When a trip is dropped for “personal time off” the lost time may be made up in the month lost only if authorized by the company.
- United flight attendants receive fewer sick leave hours than Delta’s PPT every year – Delta’s 56 hours of PPT vs. United’s 48 hours of sick leave.
Even more important, AFA has never negotiated a package that includes a separate “sick leave” bank, vacation, and an additional PPT program like Delta’s. We’re not aware of any airline that has all three programs.
Related Articles
DEC 20, 2024
Tom: My previous union failed to deliver on its big campaign promises
Tom shares how the union overpromised during the campaign & underdelivered in the contract.
OCT 22, 2024
The truth about retro pay and signing bonuses
Years of steady pay increases at Delta delivers more
SEPT 6, 2024
The reality of negotiations in the airline industry
Other carriers show negotiations can take years to complete.
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.
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.