IAM Withdraws NMB Election Application

As you know, for the past few years the IAM has supported a historic organizing drive by Delta Flight Attendants. This campaign offered the opportunity to participate in an election to determine whether you would be represented by a strong union and protected by an industry leading contract or continue to be employees serving at the whim of the company.

We were heartened by the outpouring of support for an election, as well as the sense of urgency among thousands of Flight Attendants who believed that the time to have a voice in their professional future had arrived at last. For that reason, as soon as we received what was believed to be a substantial majority of authorization cards from the Flight Attendant group we filed the cards with the National Mediation Board (NMB) in Washington, D.C., seeking an election. Unfortunately, we have recently discovered that a number of the cards submitted to us contain insufficient information or questionable signatures.

By our calculation, the number of questionable cards makes our showing of interest borderline. However, rather than waiting months for a determination by the NMB, we believe the best course of action is to avoid further delay and withdraw our current application, renew our organizing drive and file again twelve months from the date of the dismissal of our application, as is permitted by law.

We apologize to all of you for this delay but under the circumstances it is the only way to correct this unfortunate situation while continuing our drive to obtain the economic justice Flight Attendants deserve.

Source: IAMDelta