A group of 73 US House Democratic lawmakers have also sent a letter to Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian calling on the Atlanta-based carrier to “immediately cease all efforts” to dissuade their ramp agents and flight attendants from joining the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM).
The May 29 letter to Bastian is the latest salvo in a barrage of criticism leveled at Delta management since a series of social media posts featuring the company’s anti-union communications went viral earlier in May, prompting scathing remarks from US Senate Democrats, including several 2020 presidential contenders.
The IAM has filed charges against Delta with the US National Mediation Board (NMB), alleging the Atlanta-based carrier’s anti-union activities violate Delta employees’ right to unionize “free from interference, influence or coercion exercised by the carrier.”
In their letter, the Democratic lawmakers said they understand the company “has been exposing workers to a coordinated series of outrageous anti-union propaganda materials,” referencing the carrier’s “Don’t Risk It. Don’t Sign It” website, which they said, “Features misleading and deceptive claims about the role of a union and about the IAM specifically.”
The lawmakers told Bastian they were “astonished” by the anti-union materials Delta allegedly placed in employee breakrooms and restrooms, and said it is “especially insulting when many Delta ramp agents make as little as $9 an hour and your compensation in 2017 was $22 million.”