Northwest Airlines Flight Attendants to Testify on Delta-Northwest Merger Effects

Tomorrow, November 13, 2008, Northwest Airlines flight attendants will testify before the Metropolitan Affairs Committee for the State of Minnesota and Representative Debra Hilstom. The Committee is investigating how the merger of Northwest Airlines with Delta Air Lines will impact the contracts the state has with the carrier. The Northwest flight attendants, represented by he Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), will testify at the hearing alongside union representatives of other work groups at Northwest.

Northwest Airlines flight attendants have been concerned about the loss of union representation (among other things) ever since the plans to merge Northwest and Delta were first announced. In a statement about the upcoming hearings in Minnesota, Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President, said, "We applaud the state of Minnesota on their continued commitment to evaluating the potential consequences of the merger on the state and citizens of the state. This merger has the potential to break the long standing commitments with Minnesota that has enabled Northwest Airlines to become a viable and successful merger partner, and it also threatens to break Northwest flight attendants’ contract and eliminate the union and destroy over 60 years of collective bargaining rights."

Delta Air Lines flight attendants have never had union representation. Now that the merger is official, the combined the Delta-Northwest flight attendant group must vote to become members of AFA-CWA. According to the rules of the National Mediation Board (NMB), which oversees such representational elections, if less than 50 percent of Delta and Northwest flight attendants participate in the election, the NMB will declare that vote invalid and Northwest flight attendants will lose their contract.

UPDATE Nov. 14, 2008: The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) issued a media release about Northwest flight attendants testimony before the State of Minnesota Metropolitan Affairs Committee yesterday.

Excerpt:

“We are very concerned that this merger can be used as an opportunity to break Northwest flight attendants’ contract, eliminate our union and destroy our collective bargaining rights,” said Rene Foss, an AFA-CWA Northwest flight attendant. “Without the protections of our collective bargaining rights, it is likely that management will drive down wages, benefits, work rules and eliminate jobs altogether.”

Due to archaic National Mediation Board (NMB) guidelines, because Delta flight attendants are not represented, the combined work group must vote to become members of AFA-CWA. If less than 50 percent of Delta and Northwest flight attendants participate in the election, the NMB will declare that vote invalid and Northwest flight attendants will lose their contract.

“As Delta and Northwest flight attendants prepare for an AFA-CWA representation vote, it is imperative that Delta management remain neutral in this election. If they are successful in keeping the ‘new Delta’ non union, we could see this merger as the beginning of the end of good jobs in the airline industry, the state of Minnesota and our country as a whole,” said Foss.

Delta management recently began their campaign to pit the flight attendants at both carriers against each other by informing non-union Delta flight attendants that they would be receiving a raise unlike their Northwest colleagues. AFA-CWA leadership quickly responded to the announcement by informing Delta management that the Northwest flight attendant contract does not exclude raises and encouraged management to meet with AFA-CWA leaders.