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Delta’s non-unionized flight attendants could make another push to organize “in a few months,” said Sara Nelson, head of a 55,000-member union. Nelson cited broader public support for labor as one driver of change.<\/p>\n
Flight attendants at Delta Air Lines<\/a> may soon make another push to unionize as broader public support for organized labor creates momentum, according to the head of the largest U.S. flight attendants union.<\/p>\n Sara Nelson<\/a>, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO<\/a>, said Tuesday that developments in the long-running campaign to organize Delta\u2019s cabin crew \u201cmaybe\u201d could emerge \u201cin a few months.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe big change today is that we have a positive view of unions in the public,\u201d Nelson said onstage at the Skift Aviation Forum in Dallas-Fort Worth. \u201cThey\u2019re one of the most popular things in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Nelson, who represents 55,000 members at 20 airlines, cited stronger support from community organizations and elected officials in Atlanta, Delta\u2019s headquarters city, and Gen Z\u2019s pro-union attitudes as factors that could tip the balance after three failed attempts over a couple of decades to unionize the carrier\u2019s flight attendants.<\/p>\n Nelson said Delta\u2019s recent move to pay flight attendants for boarding time \u2014 unique among major U.S. carriers \u2014 was a direct response to union pressure.<\/p>\n But she said to Skift Editor-in-Chief Sarah Kopit that it was also driven by the airline\u2019s effort to attract and retain Gen Z talent. Many younger workers have different expectations about compensation and working conditions.<\/p>\n The initiative has since been expanded elsewhere, with \u201cbetter terms\u201d secured in contracts at American Airlines Group and a pending agreement at Alaska Air Group, Nelson said.<\/p>\n Nelson highlighted a handful of other union\u2019s priorities, including:<\/p>\n Addressing concerns that unions drive up costs and hurt passenger experience, Nelson argued that union advocacy has historically improved safety and service, citing the elimination of in-flight smoking and pesticide spraying as examples.<\/p>\n \u201cRegulations can, if they\u2019re done well, improve the safety standards so that everyone is on board with them,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cIt\u2019s pro-competition because it raises the level of the requirements for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n The union chief pointed to the pandemic response as evidence of organized labor\u2019s value, crediting prior union-backed safety training for helping protect flight attendants during the pandemic.<\/p>\n Nelson also highlighted the union\u2019s role in securing federal payroll support that kept aviation workers employed through the crisis. The program kept aviation workers connected to their paychecks, healthcare, and other benefits for 16 months and banned stock buybacks for a period of time.<\/p>\n Nelson \u2014 who was recently named chair of the Civil Aviation section of the International Transport Workers Federation<\/a>, which represents 5 million aviation workers worldwide \u2014 said labor campaigns often help companies and customers as much as employees.<\/p>\n \u201cPassengers would not have the safety in the cabin they have if it were not for our union,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cThere\u2019s not just a vending machine and \u2018Fend for yourselves.’\u201d<\/p>\n What am I looking at?<\/strong>\u00a0The performance of airline sector stocks within the\u00a0ST200. The index includes companies publicly traded across global markets including network carriers, low-cost carriers, and other related companies.<\/p>\nFlight Attendant Priorities<\/h2>\n
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What Flight Attendants Have Won<\/h2>\n
Airlines Sector Stock Index Performance Year-to-Date<\/h3>\n