Machinists Withdraw Delta Fleet Service Single Carrier Application

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today withdrew the single carrier application it filed with the National Mediation Board (NMB) on behalf of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines' fleet service employees on August 13, 2009. The withdrawal is in response to Delta's insistence that fleet service representation issues be resolved at the same time as passenger service and office & clerical employees, whose single carrier applications have yet to be filed.

"Delta has spent the last three months vigorously litigating their position that the IAM cannot submit an application for fleet service employees separately from the office & clerical and passenger service employees," said IAM General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. "But Delta and Northwest are not yet a single carrier for representation purposes in the office & clerical and passenger service classifications. If the three separate crafts or classes must be investigated simultaneously, as Delta and Northwest insist, then the two carriers are not yet a single transportation system for fleet service either and the IAM must withdraw its application."

"The two airlines have also repeatedly and falsely accused the Machinists union of not caring about the employees for whom we have not yet filed a single carrier application," continued Roach. "Based on Delta's efforts to poison the mindset of employees, none of the employees can have a fair election at this time. The IAM looks forward to filing single carrier applications for fleet service, office & clerical and passenger service classifications when the taint of Delta's conduct has dissipated and each of those groups at Delta and Northwest are functioning as a single transportation system."

A ruling by the NMB that the two carriers are operating as a single carrier for a particular classification must occur before union representation issues can be resolved for that classification. The IAM's previous single carrier applications for Delta and Northwest flight simulator technicians and plant protection employees are not affected by the withdrawal of its fleet service application. The IAM will also file for stores clerks separately when both Northwest and Delta stores groups are operating as a single carrier.

A letter to Delta and Northwest employees, as well as a Q&A about the withdrawal of the IAM's fleet service application, is available at www.goiam.org/transportation.

The Machinists union is the largest airline union in North America, representing more than 110,000 airline workers, including 12,000 Northwest Airlines fleet service, customer service, office & clerical, flight simulator technicians, stock clerks and plant protection employees. More information about the IAM is available at www.goiam.org/transportation and www.iam143.org.