IAM Delta Flight Attendants

IAM International President Bob Martinez, Jr. and Transportation General Vice President Sito Pantoja recently sent a letter to United States Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao respectfully urging her to swiftly implement Sections 551 and 335 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.

Section 551 of the bill addresses the troubling rise in assaults directed at Customer Service Agents at our nations's airports, and Section 335 of the bill requires a 10-hour minimum rest period for Flight Attendants between 14-hour duty periods.

"Across the country, Customer Service Agents are being assaulted by angry passengers on a daily basis. No one should be physically or verbally assaulted just because they showed up to work and performed their job," said IP Martinez and GVP Pantoja. "Chronic fatigue among Flight Attendants is a serious issue in the commercial airline industry. Forcing Flight Attendants to work under these outdated rest rules is simply unacceptable. We respectfully ask the FAA to implement these rules without further delay."

Click here to read the full letter.

While many were enjoying their hard-earned Labor Day holiday with their families, AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler and other labor leaders spent their Labor Day assisting IAM-Delta Activists at a card signing and hand-billing event at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

The AFL-CIO, which represents 12.5 million union members nationwide, is a strong supporter of the IAM-Delta Flight Attendant and Ramp campaigns. 

Click here to read AFL-CIO President Rich Trumka's IAM-Delta support letter.

Our labor has made Delta Air Lines executives richer than ever. 

Our GST recognitions. Our 90-hour schedule values. Our service delivery “enhancements.” Our bumps in NPS. So why did we have to wait so long for a pay increase this year when our workload continues to grow? And why is our increase just 1% above the national annual cost of living adjustment?

We are way overdue to surpass American, United, and other unionized carriers’ flight pay rates. Leadership’s self-congratulatory messages are disingenuous since those airlines don’t come close to Delta in capacity or profitability. And don’t get us started on insurance deductibles that take thousands more out of our pockets!

Airline workers with IAM contracts consistently enjoy the greatest hourly wage increases in each represented class in the industry. They know exactly when pay hikes are coming thanks to iron-clad work rules negotiated by peer union representatives. Plus, their insurance costs don't cause heart palpitations during open enrollment.

Be grateful, thankful, and blessed to work for the nation’s richest airline this Labor Day—we are the makers of that wealth! When you’re done celebrating, sign or renew your IAM card so we can negotiate annual pay increases and lower insurance costs in our first IAM contract.

Happy Labor Day!

The Transport Workers Union (TWU), which represents 150,000 members, this week wrote a letter of support for the IAM-Delta campaigns.

“Successful IAM-Delta campaigns are important not just for Delta employees, but for every airline industry worker,” said the Transport Workers Union leadership. “The TWU stands shoulder to shoulder with you and the IAM-Delta campaigns in this fight. The entire labor movement is with you.”

In addition to the TWU, whose members include Southwest and JetBlue Flight Attendants and ground staff at American Airlines and Southwest, our IAM-Delta campaigns also have support from the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the 18.5 million members in the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and the 12 million worker-strong AFL-CIO.  

Click here to read ALPA’s support letter.

Click here to view the video of Lori Bassani, president of APFA, the world’s largest independent flight attendant union, voicing her support.

ITF affiliate UNPNC-represented Air France Flight Attendant David Tuchagues expresses in the video below his union's support for the IAM Delta campaigns.