Union rallies near Atlanta airport to organize Delta workers

“We know we have this little window of opportunity,” said IAM organizer Charlie Hood. “There’s an urgency for us to take advantage of what we have in this situation now.”

But it is not certain that the IAM will get a vote on union representation before inauguration day, January 20.

The IAM and other unions have been trying to organize workers at Delta, an Atlanta-based company, since 2010. To file for a union election, they must collect valid authorization cards from more than 50 percent of workers signed within the past year. That has proven to be a challenge for more than a decade.

Credits: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC

Credits: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC

While the rest of the airline industry is heavily unionized, Delta is largely nonunion, with pilots being the only majority-union group. That has made the airline, headquartered in the union-unfriendly South, a white whale for unions.

The IAM is seeking to organize about 20,000 Delta baggage handlers, cargo and control tower workers.

Delta’s campaigns have been going on for so long that some organizers have retired and others have passed away, Hood said. As a token of appreciation, protesters who demonstrated Wednesday afternoon near a Delta employee parking lot off Camp Creek Parkway wore T-shirts that read, “Standing on the shoulders of those who came before us.” About 50 organizers and union members attended the rally Wednesday, according to the IAM.

“Here we are in 2024, and we are fighting the same fight they were fighting 10 years ago,” Hood said.

The IAM plans to rally on the sidewalk at Terminal South in Hartsfield-Jackson Thursday afternoon, then gather at a union hall for a show focused on their campaign hosted by Roland Martin.

“We think this is an opportunity for (workers’) voices to be heard,” said Nicole Fears, IAM’s human rights director.

Credits: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC

Credits: Ziyu Julian Zhu/AJC

Organizers said they felt intimidated by Delta’s tactics to discourage workers from unionizing, and Hood said workers would discuss it at the show Thursday night.

“They’ve tried to instill a lot of fear,” said Amanda Goodman Berry, a Delta Air Lines employee. The company launched a campaign using the slogan “Don’t take chances. Don’t sign,” telling workers they could lose vacation time, pay and flexibility with a union and that union dues are a “hidden pay cut.”

Delta issued a statement saying: “We believe every employee has the right to choose or decline union representation. Our direct relationship with employees has proven stronger, faster and more effective in driving improvements, which is why Delta employees have repeatedly rejected union representation over the past 20 years.”

The union typically calls for an election after collecting signed authorization cards representing far more than the majority of employees it aims to represent, while the company urges employees not to sign the authorization cards.

Union organizers say they plan to continue their campaign even if they fail to collect enough cards in time this year and it drags on into the next presidential administration.

“We would rather have a (national mediation) board that is more sympathetic to workers than not,” said James Carlson, IAM’s regional air transportation coordinator. But, he added, “we want to file our case as soon as we feel comfortable doing so.”

It remains to be seen how much the future will change The Trump administration is looking to push its position on unions through the National Mediation Board. While Biden has been endorsed by the United Auto Workers union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters leader Sean O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention this week.

The IAM and other unions seeking to organize Delta flight attendants and mechanics have mobilized members of Congress to sign letters urging Delta to agree to remain neutral on union organizing, including 25 U.S. senators and more than 150 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Several Democrats in Georgia’s congressional delegation, including U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, wrote more moderately worded letters urging Delta to remain “a good faith partner” or encouraging all parties to follow the law.