Delta Airlines The salaries of the employees who work in the cabins of its planes will be paid from the moment the boarding process beginsa change expected to increase crew salaries by several thousand dollars a year.
The company repeatedly resisted attempts by crew members to form unions.
The change announced by Delta is significant, because according to the company’s policies, the crew’s workday began when all passengers were seated and the doors were closed to begin takeoff..
Delta has confirmed that the change will begin on June 2 of this year. The company explained, through a memo distributed to its employees, that the additional funds “recognize the importance of their roles on board to provide a welcoming and safe environment, in addition to ensuring the departure on time for each flight.”
Delta has implemented the change as it plans to increase boarding time for narrow-cabin (single row) planes from 35 to 40 minutes, a change they hope will increase the percentage of flights that take off on time.
Delta pilots are already represented by a union, but several attempts by crew members to form unions failed in the face of stiff opposition from the Atlanta, Georgia airline. The Flight Attendants Association, which has been in Delta for nearly two years in favor of establishing a union, won a victory over a salary increase resolution approved by the company.
This new policy is a direct result of our regulatory efforts. “As we move closer to submitting a vote for or against forming a union, management has become nervous,” the union said in written statements.
The union noted that Delta has also responded to the anger of its crew over long boarding periods, as flight attendants are not paid.
Delta noted that the new policy comes on top of the 4% salary increase it agreed to for flight attendants last week.
Various unions account for more than 80% of workers in US, United, and Southwest airlines, but this percentage is much lower in Delta.