<= IMG=20 id=3Dlogo alt=3DTheStreet.com=20 src=3D"http://i.thestreet.com/files/tsc/v2008/css/images/tsclogo.gif">

= ;BEAT THE=20 STREET GAME:
WIN UP TO $5,000 = WEEKLY!=20

Subsc= ribe to=20 Expert Advisors

Free = Newsletters

=20

H= eadlines=20 & Perspectives
TheStreet = Picks=20
Investing = A-to-Z=20
Life & = Money=20
Portfolio=20 & Tools= =20
RealMoney=20

Beat=20 the Street Game=20
Portfolio=20
Calculato= rs=20
Stockpickr=20
Street Answers=20
Mad Money = Performance=20
Stock=20 Screener=20
Mutual=20 Fund Screener=20
ETF=20 Screener=20
Banks=20 & Thrifts Screener=20
Insurers=20 & HMOs Screener=20
Glossary=20

Transportation

= =20

Delta-Northwest Deal Could Oust Unions

05/01/08 - 06:49 AM EDT

AMR=20 CAL=20 DAL=20 LCC=20 NWA=20 UAUA=20

Ted Reed

loading...=20

Click to = see UPS=20 Videos >=20

=20

VOTE FOR
MAINSTREET

Be the

First

Member to

Recommend
this article

Recommend it

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The dealmaking behind the creation of the world's = largest=20 airline may very well result in a referendum on union representation in = the=20 airline industry.=20

Why? The planned merger of Delta DAL and Northwest NWA=20 represents a combination of two carriers with vastly different labor = profiles.=20 Just 15% of Delta's 55,000 workers are unionized; 80% of Northwest's = 34,000=20 workers are.=20

In the representation elections likely to follow a merger, unions = could very=20 well be ousted. "We think part of the thinking here is that they could=20 de-unionize the transportation labor movement," says Robert Roach, = general vice=20 president of the International Association of Machinists, the largest = airline=20 union and a key opponent of the merger.=20

A History of Union Resistance

In recent years, a series of efforts to unionize Delta workers have = all=20 failed. In 2002, flight attendants rejected the Association of Flight=20 Attendants, which won only 29% of the vote.=20

In 2001, before an industry downturn forced Delta to reduce its = workforce by=20 roughly 30,000 workers, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association = failed to=20 organize Delta mechanics.=20

In 1997, the Transport Workers Union failed to organize about 8,000=20 fleet-service workers. The IAM has been trying to organize about 6,000=20 fleet-service workers since 2006.=20

Only pilots and flight dispatchers are unionized at Atlanta-based = Delta,=20 which has been able to resist unions because of a strong Southern = corporate=20 culture combined with occasional contract perks to keep workers happy.=20

For the moment, the spotlight is on the AFA's renewed effort to = organize=20 13,500 flight attendants, including 12,000 who are active employees. = Voting=20 began April 23 and will conclude May 28.=20

Delta is actively opposed, a stance that is not the norm in the = airline=20 industry, where most carriers are heavily unionized and tend to remain = neutral=20 in union elections. Last month, in a prepared statement, Joanne Smith, = the=20 airline's senior vice president of in-flight service, rebuked the AFA, = saying:=20 "The AFA's track record at other network carriers is not a good one," = and noted=20 that "Delta flight attendants have it better than what the AFA has been = able to=20 deliver at other airlines."

Previous =AB

1 2=20 3=20

=BB Next

United,=20 US Airways May Give It Another Go

Headlines & Perspectives

Transportation

Go=20 To Section Home

04/28/08

United,=20 US Airways May Give It Another Go=20

However, a deal between the two would have major issues that would = have to be=20 resolved.

04/28/08

Airlines=20 May Need More Capacity Cuts=20

Every major carrier has set plans to lower capacity, led by AirTran = and=20 Delta.

04/27/08

Continental=20 Says No Merger on Horizon=20

The nation's No. 4 airline decides its best course is to fly solo in = the=20 current industry environment.

Transportation=20

RSS=20

2008-04-28 13:05:18.0

Cramer's=20 Take on the Top 10 Searched Stocks=20

Apple and AT&T were among the most searched stocks on = TheStreet.com=20 Friday. Here's what Cramer had to say about them recently.

2008-04-26 10:14:52.0

Jim=20 Cramer's Best Blogs=20

Catch up on his thinking on the hottest topics of the past=20 week.

2008-04-26 10:16:26.0

Coming=20 Week: Make or Break=20

Investors will have to deal with a Fed meeting and another flood of = earnings=20 and economic data.

2008-04-27 09:48:57.0

This=20 Week's Barron's Roundup=20

Looking for deep value with Defiance Asset Management, polling big = investors=20 about where the market's headed, plus much more.

2008-04-28 09:55:46.0

Monday's=20 Analysts' Upgrades, Downgrades=20

See who made what calls.

2008-02-29 08:24:40.0

3=20 Stocks I Saw On TV=20

3 Stocks I Saw On TVDan Fitzpatrick examines three stocks viewed on = Fast=20 Money and Mad Money Today's stocks include Deere & Co., Petrobras = and=20 MBIA

2008-04-28 11:26:45.0

One=20 Bank Pick Stumbles, the Other Soars=20

TheStreet.com Ratings checks in on First Community Bancorp and First = Niagara=20 Financial Group two months after recommending the stock.

2008-04-28 13:45:09.0

Grand=20 Theft Auto IV Hits the Jackpot=20

Take-Two's latest hit receives a perfect score from industry=20 reviewers.

Your Recent = Quotes:=20 3D"Quote