Delta – Northwest
And
The Future


The announcement has been made. The waiting is over. Our two airlines want to merge. This is an exciting time and a time of great uncertainty. It is also a time that the Machinist’s Union – the IAM – has been planning for. Being part of a Union is all about the future…it is the reason so many want to be included.

We all know that with a Union we have a voice in what will happen to us. We will have a say in the benefits that survive the merger, we will vote on a known schedule of pay increases, we will be able to bring a retirement back to the bargaining table.

Delta has made its statements to employees. Richard Anderson has promised an industry standard pay…in the future. They say there will be no closure of hubs…for now. There is a special play to ‘Front Line Employees’ for some sort of consideration…whether full-time or part-time and for how long is unknown. Promises can be broken. The only way to guarantee any of these is to have them in a legally enforceable contract. And, the only way to have a legally enforceable contract is to be Union.

Every person reading this knows that ‘industry standard’ is a moving target. Lately it has been moving down. Everyone also knows that the industry standard only moves up when there are employees in a Union who are bargaining up. The more that bargain up, the more the standard moves up. Delta has followed this pattern for over 75 years – and you have lived it.

Now, in an ironic twist of fate, the employees of Delta and Northwest will be the first to decide if the future will be one that can be better. You will have the opportunity to decide if today’s pay and benefits are the ceiling; the best they will ever get. Or, you will be able to decide if those pay and benefits are the floor from which we move up.

The choice is simple…Union Yes or no.

Yes starts us down the road of making the New Delta one that has better pay, a voice in the workplace, replacement of the lost pension, more job security, and better benefits.

No means the continuing downward slide for employees that our industry leaders can’t or won’t stop by themselves.

You see, the Future is In Your Hands – literally! By filling out the IAM card and turning it in, you will change the course of your future for the better.