Bi-Weekly Pay Eliminated Our Schedule Flexibility

When Delta management changed to a biweekly pay schedule in 2019, they took away the flexibility so many of us loved and the stability in our paychecks we counted on.

It’s just one more example of how Delta’s unilateral control over our working conditions and terms of employment gives management the power to change our jobs and our lives any time they want.

We’ve heard questions from Delta Flight Attendants about the change to biweekly pay. Those who were here before the change have asked if Delta is the only major carrier that no longer provides a monthly guarantee (YES!), and those hired after the change have wondered how biweekly pay affects our jobs and our lives.

Our previous 45-hour monthly guarantee was the smallest among major carriers, but even so it provided stability for Flight Attendants to plan our budgets and our time.

Because the guarantee was split across two checks on the 1st and 15th of each month, Flight Attendants had more flexibility to arrange our monthly schedules without worrying about covering healthcare premiums or other deductions. If you wanted to do all your flying the first two weeks and then have two weeks off, you could (as long as your bids were accepted). But the biweekly pay system effectively forces us to fly in every pay period.

Biweekly pay eliminated that. We’re working more often and working more—or losing our benefits. Biweekly pay has made our job less flexible and our paychecks less consistent. We’ve also lost the monthly guarantees that our flying partners at other airlines enjoy.

And when management announced the change, they made no effort to engage the EIG or seek Flight Attendant input. In fact, they lied to us, claiming that this was done to align with IRS rules that don’t exist.

Pilots were able to beat back the change to bi-weekly because they have a union contract and management is required to negotiate changes with them.

When we have a union contract, we’ll have the standing to negotiate a pay system that works for us—instead of being forced to follow one that benefits the company. Here's some contract language that exists today:

United AFA Contract

BB. Paychecks

1. Paychecks shall be available for distribution to Flight Attendants at their Domicile office not later than the 1st or 16th of each month. Direct deposit funds for January 1st will not be available until the first business day after the holiday. If paychecks arrive at the Domicile before the 1st or 16th, the Company will process and distribute paychecks upon their arrival in the Domicile without delay. Paychecks shall be issued during hours when Inflight Service Personnel are on duty at the Domicile office.

2. A Flight Attendant shall receive seventy percent (70%) of base pay not later than the 1st day of each month. Base pay is seventy-one (71) hours.

3. On the 16th day of each calendar month a Flight Attendant shall be issued a paycheck containing the total monthly earnings minus the 1st of the month advance.

Hawaiian AFA Contract

N. Paychecks

1. “Pay Day” shall be the seventh (7th) and twenty-second (22nd) day (excluding

Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays observed by the Company's Accounting

Division) of each month and the pay checks shall be available no later than 10:00

a.m. on the aforementioned dates.

a. The pay check on the seventh 7th of the month will contain the reconciliation

for the previous month's activity.

b. The “advance” will be 37.5 hours on each pay period.

Sign a card today, get involved in our campaign, and let’s lock in what we love about Flying at Delta with a union contract!

In Solidarity,
Delta AFA