For Immediate Release: October 29, 2008
Contact: Corey Caldwell 202-434-0586
Department of Justice Approves Delta/Northwest Merger
Washington, DC – The collective bargaining rights of Northwest flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), were threatened today when the Department of Justice (DOJ) officially approved the merger between Northwest and Delta Air Lines.
“While the formal approval of this highly anticipated merger is no surprise, today’s announcement officially creates the world’s largest airline and provides an enormous opportunity to advance the profession of over 21,000 flight attendants,” said AFA-CWA International President Patricia Friend. “With such vast opportunity also comes a great responsibility to protect the 60 years of collective bargaining rights that Northwest flight attendants have long fought to maintain.”
Delta Air Lines flight attendants narrowly missed becoming AFA-CWA members earlier this year. While AFA-CWA won the vast majority of votes cast for union representation, Delta management’s aggressive voter suppression campaign kept thousands from casting a vote. Due to less than 50 percent of flight attendants participating, the National Mediation Board refused to validate the election.
“We are all safety and service professionals, who are bound by a common goal to uphold our career in a changing global economy; and while our executives change frequently, we are the constant force that will maintain our airline’s position of leadership in this industry,” said AFA-CWA Northwest Airlines President Kevin Griffin and AFA-CWA Delta Air Lines activist Angela Winningham in a joint statement.(pdf) “We now have the potential to be the largest flight attendant union in the world and look forward to working together to make that a reality.”
For over 60 years, the Association of Flight Attendants has been serving as the voice for flight attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill. More than 55,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines come together to form AFA-CWA, the world’s largest flight attendant union. AFA is part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afanet.org.
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