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On my way to the airport Saturday, just before my live radio spot from the “F” Delta Skyclub, I could not miss the advertising for BeDeltaBeDifferent.com on the back of the bus in front of us. Here is some web info about the site (run by Delta).
Domain Name: BEDELTABEDIFFERENT.COM
Registrar: WILD WEST DOMAINS, LLC
Whois Server: whois.wildwestdomains.com
Referral URL: http://www.wildwestdomains.com
Updated Date: 28-jan-2015
Creation Date: 28-jan-2015
Expiration Date: 28-jan-2016
So this is Delta’s response to FAs and why the mothership thinks it is a BAD idea for them to join a union.
I have no stake one way or the other in this other than being a Delta Diamond Medallion flyer. I know, as you can see from this ever growing frustration from almost always unannounced devalutions Delta has imposed on me over the years.
One of the most interesting quotes to me is from one of the FAs in the Delta video who says:
“I don’t want another union in to destroy this beautiful company and what it has” – Delta FA
WoW. So a vote to join will destroy Delta? I hope shareholders are made aware of this.
Personally I think making every loyal Delta flyer angry, crazy and nuts from a constant flow of devaluations, cuts and destruction of the Medallion and frequent flyer programs week by week by Delta managment is more of a threat to “destroy this beautiful company” – but that is just me.
So you tell me (and please keep it clean). What do you think of this battle and who do you think will win? I would love your feedback.- René
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If Delta treats flight attendants anything like the way they treat frequent fliers, a union is desperately needed.
Delta doesn’t want a union because it will hinder Delta’s ability to treat its employees like dirt.
My wife is a Delta FA. Delta treats FAs much better than loyal customers/Medallions. She doesn’t want the union, nor do I. As a frequent Diamond traveler, I imagine you can tell the difference if you are on a flight with original Delta FAs versus Northwest. The NWA FAs used to have a union and they generally have pretty crappy attitudes while providing only the minimum required service. A real Delta FA, on the other hand, normally provides exceptional service with extras – they are more helpful, more courteous, and will go the extra mile – within limits of their authority – to solve problems or provide extras. While NWA FAs (former union) are reading their magazines or books, or having a chat fest, the Delta FAs will be in the aisles offering extra drinks or bags of peanuts. Put me on any flight, and there’s a 90% chance I can guess correctly if FA staff is original Delta or NWA. To increase my odds of getting a Delta FA crew, I try to route through ATL when possible instead of MSP or DTW. I don’t get a vote, but as a passenger my vote would be a resounding NO!
Scott is very correct. DL and NW FAs are like night and day. I can still tell a NW flight crew by their lack of customer service. The union will ruin DL like it has done for AA, UA, SW, etc. Plus what will the FAs say when they do not get a bonus because it is not in their cotract? If the union arrives be ready for the service to go to the floor!
Well this should get interesting quickly. I’m union but I don’t have feelings one way or the other with Delta FA’s. If they do vote to organize let’s hope it goes better than the United fiasco. I have a couple of friends who are (were – on furlough now) United FA’s and their union (and airline) messed them over badly with the merger. Of course it’s mostly the pitiful airline’s fault – copy Delta and mess over workers.
This is pure FUD. I was chatting with my Safeway cashier the other day and they are Union for decades and they certainly haven’t wrecked Safeway. Have the pilot’s unions “wrecked” Delta? Seems like record profits so that’s a nope. IMO this is a misuse of corporate funds. The programmed hate for unions that trickles down from management and permeates even uninvolved parties in this country is disgusting.
Alaska’s f/a’s are union and they have NOTdestroyed AS. AS is a better run operation than DL. I think Richard Anderson has destroyed DL and he is definitely”non union”.
FAs and FFers are basically in the same boat. Currently neither has any protection from the whims of management to “enhance” the terms and conditions of our relationship with delta. If I could join a union and have a legal contract covering the terms of the FF program that prevented management from reducing or eliminating my FF benefits during the term of the contract, I’d jump on it in heart beat. Some protection is better than none at all. When the FAs look at what delta is doing to its most valuable customers, it should be obvious that management will treat employees the same way in order to keep the record profits flowing in. Even though management always enjoys a tremendous advantage over the union in the ability to communicate with employees and to make veiled threats for voting for and promises of benefit for voting against a union, IMO a slight majority of the votes will be in favor of the union this time.
i vote for no union.. it seems when the unions take over it gets worse for all esp the customers…. and they can strike anytime… my experience with unions in healthcare has been unpleasant …. professionals do not need unions….
@ Steve, I’m interested in your comment AS is a better run operation than DAL. What do you base that on? Delta has better completion factor, on time numbers, and is very close on baggage complaints (if AS, who flies primarily O and D and doesn’t connect) can’t beat them in that, they are sad.
Earlier in the year, Delta severed its ground handling agreements with AS and since that time, AS lead in JD Power customer satisfaction has winnowed from a 30+ point lead to a 5 point lead at the mid-year scores.
AS is a great airline with great people. It is also a very small, simple operation. DAL is a global network carrier, yet is providing the same level of customer satisfaction as AS.
Do you have any facts to back up your assertion?
@Tom – You will have to agree their frequent flyer program is MILES better than Delta. They give FULL+ points, their web site WORKS and works with partners. Oh there is also space on their partners unlike Delta 😉
Rene,
Why do I say AS is a better run airline: Look at these:
JD Powers number one f/f program,
AS baggage guarantee which DL has copied,
USDOT on-time record,
The fact that I ALWAYS get first class upgrades,
the AS mileage plan has increased the miles earned on AS & DL
and the biggest metric of all, AS pisses me off less than DL.
AS customer service reps that care about solving problems.
As a sidenote, I will fly DL on international routes where I will now get an additional 25% more EQMs than i did last year.
Those are the facts.
@Rene – I was only refuting the statement that AS was “a better run operation” than Delta. The facts don’t support that.
Not arguing Delta’s FF program is better – it ain’t.
@Steve Case you confused me because I use “Steve Case” a lot too 🙂
…but if you look at USDOT on time rankings for DEC 2014 (which I think are the latest, Delta is 8 points (!) better than Alaska.
I am as strongly pro-labor as they come. However, I am not so inured with the merits of organized labor that I think that unions are perfect. After all, they are managed by fallible human beings. At the same time, Delta management is well within its rights to advertise in opposition to a union vote, provided that such advertisements not cross the line into intimidation. As to the larger question of danger to the company, you are correct that management run amok placing profit above loyalty poses a far greater danger to the company than unionized flight attendants. For proof, just look at how good the unionized pilots of Delta are and have been.
@Scott…When was the last time Delta won the JD Powers Award? Your flight attendant spouse should know this. Northwest Airlines won this award in the early part of the 90s under union representation.
Alaska Airlines continues to win this award several years in a row and the flight attendants are represented by the Association of Fight Attendants. BTW…this union along with others lobby for passenger safety on a continued basis.
Your resounding NO is for the continued preferential treatment for some flight attendants by management. There is no fair and equitable treatment for ALL Delta flight attendants. It is quite obvious that you are biased by the anti-union rhetoric that is spoon fed by the Delta. 12K union cards were not signed because management view their flight attendants with respect and fairness. 700,000 flight attendants worldwide cannot be wrong having a union contract. Just to give you a little education….Flight crews are not covered under most Federal Labor Laws….They are regulated under the “Railroad Labor Act” which enables the right to organize and negotiate a labor contract. There are very little protections from an employer to abuse working conditions without having a collective bargaining agreement.
Why is it acceptable for Pilots of Delta Airlines to be represented by ALPA but the flight attendants should not be represented?
@Cherie, Gee, you sound fairly pro-union! How about some full disclosure? Are you a Delta FA? If so, of Delta or NWA descent? Are you part of the IAM union or a union lobbyist? Are you a Delta Diamond traveler? Who says it is Acceptable that Delta pilots have a union and not the FAs? How much better off would the Pilots be if they didn’t have a union?
People do not need unions for protection. Job security is not about who you work for but rather your skills and experience. Everyone has a vote – with their feet! If you don’t like your job or benefits, please leave the company and find employment elsewhere. Labor markets are supposed to be competitive, and this goes both ways for employers and employees alike. A company that wants to attract and retain the best people will offer the best compensation packages. Unions and contracts related thereto exacerbate mediocrity and interfere with free markets and free choice.
I saw the IAM postcard comparing Alaska health benefits to Delta benefits. The Delta HSA plans are probably more appealing to younger people with fewer health issues and in alignment with Obamacare mandates. If Delta chooses to treat its employees badly in a competitive environment, then team members have the choice of voting with their feet just like Frequent Fliers can vote with their wallets. No one is, or should be, hostage to any organization. Performance should be rewarded, not tenure. Loyalty should be earned.
Regards,
Scott
Disclosures: I do not work for Delta. I have not ever worked for Delta. I’ve been a Delta frequent flier since 1991. I have been a Diamond every year since the Diamond level was started. I do not own Delta stock. Between this contentious union vote and various #KeepDescending FF topics, shorting DAL might be a good idea, but FCM and other revenue grabs might sustain or enhance Delta’s profitability even if they go from most loved to most loathed airline, so I’m staying on the sidelines with DAL and watching the fireworks.
@Tom, as far as on-time performance one month does not make a better operation. For 2014, Delta was 83.71%, Alaska 86.16%. If we take at a longer historical look back, Alaska has long been (7 year plus) better than Delta in on-time performance.
(http://www.transtats.bts.gov/OT_Delay/OT_DelayCause1.asp)
On the website, the data available goes back to June 2003. Over that whole time period the difference is negligible; Delta 80.09%, Alaska 80.57%. But when looking back over the past 7 to 8 years, Alaska has been 2 – 5 pts better than Delta, when looking at the data as a whole, A longer time frame of on-time data much more telling of how an airline is operating rather than a single month.
So to say, “…(if AS, who flies primarily O and D and doesn’t connect) can’t beat them in that, they are sad…”, is not fair or accurate when looking at the big picture.
Scott, Delta has very serious social media policies and rules. The company would be very interested in knowing that you, a husband of Delta flight att. would be putting disparaging remarks about Delta and it’s employees on the internet. So, please let her know, so your wife and her Flight service manager can have a serious discussion about those rules, and maybe some “corrective” action can take place. Thanks.
Once again no one seems to ever have an answer to why it’s okay, or their need, for DL Pilots to have Representation but not their FA’s. Heck, even the CEO has a contract, why?
Are FA’s not worthy or Respected in the same way?
There is a reason people want to petition a union for representation. Management needs to realize they are doing something or many things wrong. Happy people do not ask for a union. This is not hard to understand. Unions are not evil and Delta should stop trying to advertise that idea and spend the money else where. Unions are a response to being short changed on one or many issues. Fix the problem.
I think DELTA GLOBAL Services needs to UNITE and stand for Union. Its time to make a change. I believe that low wages and unfair labor practices are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to DELTA doing whats right. DGS Continues to be treated like the red-headed step child and does not get half of what DELTA Agents do. STAND UNITED DGS and LETS MAKE A CHANGE!