It is not simply a request for more information. A union can call for an election to represent an entire workgroup at Delta if at least 50% of eligible employees in that group sign A-Cards.  

 

The union has zero obligation to return your A-Card – even if you change your mind and ask for your card back. 

 

The NMB has to review and validate A-Cards, conduct a secret ballot election, tally votes, and report out the results. Afterward, either party can file a claim if they believe there were problems with the election and the NMB will investigate and issue a decision. During this entire process, not much would change about your work-life at Delta.  

For perspective: During the Delta-Northwest merger, numerous workgroups rejected union representation, including flight attendants (AFA), below-wing agents (IAM), and above-wing and reservations agents (IAM). The election process plus the follow-up NMB investigation that followed these elections took nearly 1.5 years before we knew the final outcome.

 

If life with a union turns out to be less than what you hoped for, it would be nearly impossible to restore your direct relationship. This is because there is no simple way for employees to return to non-union status after a union is certified. We have not seen it happen with any workgroup even half the size of those at Delta. 

During negotiations, there are usually thousands of individual items that are discussed – all of which are subject to give and take. Reaching an agreement on a contract means everything has to come together in one cohesive framework that works for employees, the union, and for the company. Increasing costs in one area may mean decreasing in another, and for any one item, the end result may be better, worse, or the same as what you have today.

Negotiations in the airline industry are often lengthy and given the size of Delta and complexity of our operation, we could expect the same here. No one, including a union or Delta, knows how long negotiations would take.  

For example, take a look at how long negotiations took for flight attendants at various airlines.

While the negotiations process takes place, few improvements are typically made to pay or work rules.  

Employees vote on the entire contract, not individual components. For this reason, contracts are built to gain support from the majority of the workgroup. Once the union and the company agree on the terms of a contract and have employees vote on it, the contract becomes final for the entire workgroup if the majority of those voting agrees. 

Dues pay for union expenses, including the salaries of union officers and staff and the costs of representing members.

With AFA and IAM, whether you are just starting your career or are at the top of the pay scale, you would pay the same amount as all your workgroup peers at Delta.

• In 2023, AFA-represented flight attendants pay $50 in dues every month – that’s $600 per year. 

• IAM-represented employees’ dues vary based on their local lodge. For example, IAM members of Local Lodge 1726, which represents members from United, American, Southwest and Alaska in much of New England, including BOS, went from paying $73 per month last year to nearly $80 per month this year – an almost 10% increase and now almost $1,000 per year ($960). 

With Teamsters, monthly dues are two-and-a-half hours of base pay monthly. So, for a TechOps employee just starting their career, this would be $75 per month. At top-of-scale, monthly Teamsters dues would equal $128 – more than $1,500 per year.

Nothing in the law protects you from a union’s increases in costs and expenditures or the obligation to pay for those increases through increasing dues. For example, the American and United IAM members of Local Lodge 1759 in IAD/DCA were paying $66 per month in 2022 – and in 2023 they’re now paying $71 per month. Meanwhile in BOS, IAM members of Local Lodge 1726 are paying $79.41 per month in 2023 – up from $73.06 per month in 2022.

Once the union negotiates a “union security clause” (which is standard in the airline industry) paying dues or the equivalent is mandatory for all employees working in the represented workgroup. State “right to work” laws, which state that an individual cannot be forced to pay dues or fees to a labor union as a condition of employment, do not apply in the airline industry, so employees cannot opt out of paying dues or equivalent fees for non-members. 

If a union is voted in to represent a workgroup, it would represent all employees in that workgroup, including those who didn’t vote for the union. If you decide you don’t want to pay for union representation or pay other non-member fees, the union can require the company terminate your employment – and it has done so before.