COMMON GROUND
THE ECONOMY SHOULD MAKE FRIENDS OF US ALL
GOING FORWARD WILL REQUIRE COOPERATION AND GOODWILL

We are in probably the most profound economic difficulty America has faced since the Great Depression. Delta will most certainly suffer along with all other aspects of the world economy. Times are difficult and will become strained. People will lose their jobs, with or without union support.

We in the union camp recognize this. We are prepared to protect those who have contracts with us and council the ones who will most certainly be laid off. It is time for all of us to find common ground and make sure that this airline survives going forward so that all of us will have a place to work, whether we get displaced or not.

Enjoy the banter of others and never allow your differences to interfere with your friendships. Some of our most lasting and enduring friends can be complete opposites from our own personal and political views. We must know the importance of getting along with people, the importance of life and the relative unimportance of philosophical and ideological debate.

What is this advice all about?

It’s simple. We all have a common enemy right now, no matter what our view is on unionization. Our enemy is the sickness of the world economy. We need to recognize that no matter who wins these union campaigns, we will all face the potential of economic Armageddon. That is a certainty. No one needs to blame any political party or thought process for our situation. The damage has been done and a measure of pain will be meted out to all workers throughout the world.

We in the IAM union camp think that voting for the union and formulating a contract for all Delta workers is the best protection in a bad situation. We think that many will eventually lose their jobs and be displaced but this is America and the sun will break through the clouds someday; probably sooner than we all know.

Dismay will give way to hope which will bring forth action followed by results. America is a can do place and we all appreciate living here and having the opportunity to provide for ourselves and our families.

Let’s work together, all of us, to make sure that the place we call our home away from home will be here after the clouds part, to be a better place to work and will allow us to begin to rebuild our future. Those of us in the union struggle pledge our continuous support to all of us. Let’s find common ground in our shared effort to maintain our two great airlines.