"I Have Too Much Invested to Give Up"

Northwest Flight Attendants Keep Up the Fight for Union Rights at Delta

AFA-CWA flight attendants at the former Northwest Airlines, now a part of Delta Air Lines, are keeping up the fight for their union.

“Many of them say they never dreamed that they would be without a union after we merged with Delta. They took it for granted that we would prevail,” said Elizabeth Joyce, an AFA-CWA union representative at Northwest for 25 years.

“I have too much invested in building our union and profession at Northwest to give up. We’re continuing to wear our AFA pins because we want our colleagues at Delta, who never had a union, to see that we are united, and to know that our campaign is not over.”

The National Mediation Board is investigating Delta and its unfair tactics in the union election that stripped away 60 years of collective bargaining rights from 7,000 flight attendants at Northwest.

Joyce: “There is strong support for a union at Delta. We are being approached by many younger flight attendants who want to know what having a union contract means and we’re building a network to stay connected with all our colleagues.”

Joyce and other AFA-CWA members at Northwest formed a union Facebook group which now has thousands of followers. “Social media is a great way to get out the truth about union representation and to correct misinformation that management is putting out.”

During a layover in Wisconsin, Joyce was reminded how workers really can build a movement.

“When I visited the state capitol grounds in Madison, there were still state workers there demonstrating to overturn the anti-union laws. That really heartened me. They’re not giving up, and we aren’t either.”