We make the profits. Let's lock in our share.

We make the profits. We’ve earned our fair share and more. This morning Delta Management announced $1.4 billion for 2023 profits, with about a 10.3% payout. We’re excited and thankful for this and for the hard work our colleagues in the air and on the ground have put in over the past year.

What would make this even better? Having our profit sharing formula locked in with a legally-binding union contract.

Why? We’ve learned the hard way what can happen when it’s not written in black and white. In our 2016 profit sharing (payout in 2017), management told us that “due to our feedback,” we would get a base pay raise in exchange for a lower profit sharing formula. In a time of record profits, Delta management made the choice for us–one or the other, but not both. That year, our profit sharing pay out was nearly cut in half while unionized Delta Pilots got their full legally-binding payout. They didn’t have to choose, and more importantly, management didn’t get to choose for them.

The truth is:

• We only have profit sharing because crews at unionized carriers negotiated it into legally-binding contracts—including our partners in the flight deck at Delta. Delta ”gifts” it to us because they know they have to if they want to recruit and retain great cabin crews - and to provide the minimum necessary to try to persuade us from forming our union. But until we have it in a contract, management can change the terms or take it away any time they want.

• The rhetoric on profit sharing has also evolved over the years, from management acknowledging that our base pay was lower than our competitors but our profit sharing check overcame the difference and was part of our “overall compensation package” , to current messaging that our profit sharing is a bonus and shouldn’t be relied on as part of our income. Management uses profit sharing as part of their “Delta Difference” union busting tactics.

• Our costs are rising. We count on profit sharing to cover our missed income when our inadequate sick/ppt bank of 56 hrs is used up by October. We need it to help fund our HSAs with rising medical and prescription costs. We’re throwing it into our retirement because management isn’t matching our contributions as much as they could. We’re using it to bridge the gap because while our peers with unions and contracts have guaranteed raises, fair sick time, and a generous retirement contribution, we’re at management’s mercy. It breaks our hearts to know that while everyone gets profit sharing in the good years, only some work groups are protected in the bad years.

Without us, there is no profit. We’re organizing to lock in our share of the profits we create. We’re organizing for raises which reflect that our airline makes nearly twice as much $$$ as our competitors. We’re organizing for a legally-binding contract and our Flight Attendant Union. We deserve this!

This Valentine’s Day, sign the sweetest love letter possible to yourself and your fellow Flight Attendants. Join our campaign, and sign an authorization card to seal it with a kiss. Let’s make 2024 the year we show ourselves some love and secure our legally binding contract.

SAVE & BID THE DATE: Flight Attendants across the industry are fighting to raise the standards for our career and uniting for historic actions on February 13th. Plan to bid around the picketing events on Tuesday, February 13, at more than 30 airports for a worldwide day of action and picketing event with thousands of Flight Attendants from all different airlines showing support and solidarity for each other and our careers.

Not only is this a great opportunity to show our colleagues in the skies that we’ve got their back, but speaking with other Flight Attendants is a great tool to help us win our union. We are all Flight Attendants and this is our day!

Participating locations include: ANC, ATL, CLE, EWR, IAH, MIA, PHX, CLT, FLL, LAS, MSP, SAN, AUS, GUM, HOU, DAL, LAX, ORD, SEA, BOS, DCA, HNL, LGA, PDX, SFO, BWI, DEN, LHR, PHL, TPA, DFW, IAD, MCO. Stay tuned for more detailed information and updates.