Delta flight attendants seek union

Delta Air Lines flight attendants submitted requests Thursday to the federal government for an election to unionize.

The National Mediation Board could hold elections in 60-90 days, after verifying that enough flight attendants have signed cards requesting union representation. An election would be held among all of Delta's 12,000 flight attendants.

"Today, a solid majority of Delta flight attendants have signed cards," the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (Communication Workers of America) said in a statement Thursday. The statement did not say how many cards were submitted.

A possible merger between Northwest Airlines and Delta could boost the unionization efforts of Delta flight attendants, said Paul Tanner, a Salt Lake City-based spokesman for an employee committee that is pushing to affiliate with the union. If the union drive is successful, Tanner and his pro-union colleagues would be represented by the same association that represents Northwest flight attendants. Delta has 645 Salt Lake-based flight attendants.

Tanner believes a Delta-Northwest merger would strengthen the position of Delta flight attendants who want to unionize, because Delta flight attendants could get support from colleagues at Northwest.

Currently, the only Delta employees who are unionized are pilots. Northwest's pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and ramp workers are all represented by unions.

Northwest's ramp workers are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Northwest mechanics are represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association.

Northwest's pilots, like Delta pilots, are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association. And Northwest's flight attendants are represented by the AFA.

Delta flight attendants unsuccessfully attempted to unionize in 2001, but Delta management appealed to the flight attendants that affiliation with a union would only further hurt an industry financially damaged by the Sept. 11 attacks.

As Northwest and Delta discuss whether to merge, however, the unions may have a voice in any deal between the two airlines, which if combined will become the largest U.S. carrier.

Northwest employees who belong to labor groups that have been excluded from merger discussions plan to meet today in Minneapolis to consider the implications should their carrier combine with Delta.