MEMORIAL DAY

A TIME TO REMEMBER
A TIME TO REFLECT


Memorial Day is upon us again. How swiftly time passes and how quickly all of us understand the steady march of time and our gratefulness for still being on planet earth. There is a lot to be thankful for and this is a time to remember those who have past and who have had a significant impact on our lives, our country and our company.

For many, Memorial Day is a personal jaunt down memory lane. We remember the passing of relatives who left this worldly existence way too young and we lament our familys' losses and what good would have come from a life fully lived by them.

All families have these challenges of life and death and we as a society mourn our losses and remember with fondness these great souls and the joy they brought into our lives.

The older one gets the more memory plays a significant role in shaping the days we have left in making a difference in the world around us. Our life here at Delta Air Lines has certainly changed significantly over time. We all have memories of better times and a stronger more vibrant airline. A place we called our home away from home; a work environment that was happy and successful, yet challenging and invigorating.

We were considered one of the success stories of American industry and we consistently lead the airline world in making our customers and employees happy and content. We were confident and competent in what we said, did and accomplished. We swaggered in our success and were proud, well trained and motivated workers. We were also well compensated and our benefits enhanced our lives and protected our families.

These are good memories; memories that need to be studied by our current new management team and lessons learned by them as we go forward in this merger process.

Nothing good comes cheap. You can’t run an airline by walking away from your dedicated employees and giving away essential airline responsibilities to outside firms and ‘come and go’ contractual companies who say they can do the same job for less. They can’t and they have never taken care of our customers like we used to in the past.

So many jobs have been given away; so many customers have been inconvenienced by the thoughtless, poorly developed decisions that were based on short-term monetary gain. We have learned nothing from our past and will expire if we don’t become the most efficient airline we can be. Efficiency comes form consistency. Consistency is a by-product of dedicated, long serving and well trained employees.

We who have chosen to unionize this ramp at Delta know the value of employees who are knowledgeable, competent and loyal to the company as well as the customer. We dedicate ourselves to the success of this new, combined carrier and say to Delta management that we plan on making this our home for a long time.

We remember those who came before us. We remember their dedication, compensation and success. We have fond memories of our content customers and look forward to those days again. Through our union efforts we will solidify a base of knowledge and efficiency that will once again impress the rest of the airline world and bring all of us victory, happiness and monetary success.