It’s a particularly happy Labor Day weekend at Delta Air Lines, as flight attendants were thanked for their sacrifice and told that no furloughs were planned for 2020. How was Delta able to avoid flight attendant furloughs while others plan to lay off thousands?
Delta Will Avoid Flight Attendant Furloughs In 2020
Without another round of federal support, American Airlines says it will furlough 8,100 flight attendants and United Airlines will furlough 6,920. But Delta credits the flexibility and versatility of its workforce with avoiding such painful cuts.
A spokesperson confirmed:
“We’re grateful for the continued rallying spirit of Delta people during the pandemic. With the overwhelming response of flight attendants choosing to participate in our creative staffing options – and based on our current network schedule – we are positioned well to be able to successfully manage through our flight attendant overstaffing situation.”
Such creative staffing options included voluntary leaves of absence, reduced hours, and in some cases transition to others units at Delta. Delta also enticed, though generous buyout offers, a total of 17,000 employees to leave the company or retire early during the pandemic.
The move certainly weakens the relentless push of the AFA to unionize Delta flight attendants. As one Delta flight attendant noted:
We officially are doing no furloughs of flight attendants at Delta. I’m taking another voluntary leave & love the range of optional leave opportunities we received. Shows one size fits all of @afa_cwa and @FlyingWithSara doesn’t work as THOUSANDS members get furloughed. ☹️
— Kris Fannin (@krisfannin) September 5, 2020
I’ll explore this issue further on Labor Day.
Of course this could all be a poker play by Delta. If it fully expects payroll support extension to pass, it has little to loose and much to gain by acting magnanimously (just like the middle seat debate).
CONCLUSION
View from the Wing reminded me that last Labor Day Delta surprised its flight attendants with a big raise. We find ourselves in a very different Labor Day situation this year. But Delta once again found a way a compromise with employees that results in an arguably better outcome for both sides. I’m happy for Delta FAs today.
> Read More: American Vs. Delta: A Tale Of Two Raises
> Read More: Delta Employees Laugh While American And United Employees Cry
image: Delta
Matthew
Sort of a related question. Given that the airlines have billions of $$ in frequent flyer mile liabilities, why don’t they lower mile requirements? They could get rid of liabilities, fill empty planes and create the image of flying safety and popularity in the midst of Covid.
I would say that currently it isn’t the price that is stopping people from flying. It is insecurity about their future and miles can pay for a lot but not the whole trip and few can afford to lose any income by taking a vacation. Second is that many places have travel restrictions and nobody wants to get stuck somewhere as the rules change.
Labor Day May be a happy day for Delta’s non-union flight attendants, but that will absolutely NOT the case for 1,941 union Delta pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). These unfortunate pilots (hostages?) will be furloughed by Delta management on October despite the cost saving offers made by ALPA to Delta management that would negate the need for furloughs of pilots. This is clearly a union busting tactic by management that is intended to thwart the unionizing effort among the flight attendants. It appears to be working.
You didn’t mention anything about ALPA’s demands being too self-indulgent for DELTA to accept in negotiation. Bring out both sides so your story has credibility.
Delta gave ALPA a plan to guarantee no furloughs if they would agree to a temporary 15% cut in minimum monthly guarantee (not their rate of pay) as a cost savings effort. Given that our ground and merit staff are at a 25% schedule reduction, all of whom earn dramatically less than most pilots, that is a very reasonable offer. They flat rejected it. We all have made sacrifices to save our jobs, their union selfishly refuses to do the same as the rest of the company has had to do.
I hope ALPA works with Delta to come to a solution as I don’t wish to see any of our employees furloughed. However, this isn’t a matter of the company “union-busting”, it’s a matter of a union being greedy and refusing to acknowledge the severe situation we are in necessitates cutting costs to keep the company afloat for the long term.
AFA? Thanks but no thanks, my company has saved my job while they dump countless millions of their dues-paying members money into frivolous campaigns to get Delta and the money we are worth. Please focus on saving the thousands of jobs of the FAs they supposedly represent- we don’t need their help or false promises.
afa has made 3 failed attempts to organize Delta flight attendants and was forced to withdraw another due to “irregularities” on their part. Delta has blended good employees into the workforce from heavily unionized Western (’87), Pan Am (’91), and Northwest (’08) and still remained union free. Unions are spending millions upon millions of dollars that their current membership pours into their pockets to capture the biggest prize of all – Delta. Yet unions have NEVER been able to negotiate any contract better than what Delta cabin crew already has, nor will they. While many longtime loyal anti-union flight attendants have now retired, afa faces a more insurmountable force in the younger generation that has been treated so well by their company. Call it cunning, manipulative on Delta’s part, if you will… but the truth of it is, Delta’s crews are the best, their customers are the most pleased, and the airline consistently rates at the top in all categories. Bottom Line… afa and any other suitor should save their “rank and file’s” hard earned cash – especially for those more than 15,000 cabin crew at AA and UA who will be furloughed on October 1st. Delta hasn’t needed a union in the past, certainly does not today, and won’t down the road. Delta flight attendants shine like they do because they exist in a work environment of open and honest communication and commitments between frontline and managment. I’ve been a member of both elements and it is the best of the best among airlines, bar none.
I’m a Delta flight attendant for 23 years now. Taking a 1 yr and 6 mths leave to be with family, help my company, and save junior f/as jobs. I’m so happy and relieved that we are not doing any furloughed like other airlines. I remembered the stress of getting furloughed when I got the warn letter during 9/11, but was narrowly saved from the furloughed due to flight attendants taking leaves and early retirement. Till this day, I am definitely grateful for the senior flight attendants for their sacrifice during 9/11 l, and now I want to play it forward.
Good for you! Such a refreshing attitude. I wish you all the best!
One of the many reasons I fly Delta from a non-hub (IAH). The people make the difference.
Ladies and Gents
What a nice publicity for Delta, hence we as an outsider, do not know what’s like working as non unionsed workgroup.
Thanks for flying Delta! You keep us working and climbing.