Now boarding: our organizing

Delta management announced this evening that Flight Attendants will be paid for boarding. It seems they are feeling the heat. Keep going! Every improvement they add now will get locked in when we vote for our union because they can’t retaliate and take it away.

This new policy is the direct result of our organizing—and a desperate attempt to prevent their other new boarding policy (D+40) from creating the kind of anger that it deserves.

As we get closer to filing for our union vote, management is getting nervous. In this case, they also know that changing domestic boarding time from 35 to 40 minutes without adding a benefit would create an uproar—just as the “test” in Atlanta did back in October.

But this also shows that Delta could have been paying Flight Attendants for boarding all along. And while this is a positive change, Flight Attendants are still being forced to fly more often thanks to short staffing (how many times has management offered IPY this year?!) and the biweekly pay system management imposed on us.

Earning more is always good – and we’ll take it. But our quality of life is what’s suffering right now!

It’s also a reminder that management holds all the cards. They announced this today, and they can also choose to cancel this policy at any time…unless we have a contract that locks it in. Despite references to working with us through the EIG, we all know the EIG is only asked for feedback when management sets the topic.

Today, let’s celebrate that our organizing is pushing management to do more than they would have without being challenged. And let’s double down on our campaign so we can secure a contract that locks in all of these benefits AND ensures we have a say in our pay, benefits and working conditions every day at Delta.

We’re organizing to build our Flight Attendant union so we can have a voice in our workplace and know what to count on for our collective future—sign a card, then sign up to help secure our union.