On January 25, workers from Delta Air Lines organized an inspiring rally at the St. Paul Labor Center. The ramp, cargo, and tower workers are fighting to join the International Association of Machinists (IAM), and flight attendants are fighting to join the Association of Flight Attendants at Delta, the most profitable airline in the industry. Over 200 people from a wide range of communities packed the union hall, including 25 TCDSA members, and the rally received favorable coverage on Kare 11 News. This is one of the most important campaigns TCDSA is involved with because a victory at Delta would be national news and give an important boost to the labor revival. A victory would strengthen working-class unity and help overcome the ruling class’s attempts to divide workers through oppression based on race, religion, ability, and gender.
The rally opened with live music by local folk singer, Emmett Doyle, followed by several speakers ranging from flight attendants to MSP Delta workers (some of whom are DSA members). The keynote speaker was the nationally recognized President of the Association of the Flight Attendants, Sara Nelson. Nelson’s fiery speech (time stamp 1:34:19) explicitly calling out capitalism was inspiring, and provided much needed encouragement in the face of Trump’s billionaire agenda and complicit Democrats.
Many DSA and DFL politicians and local labor unions came out to show support (listed below). The energy at the rally was electric, and all 200 attendees were eager to show solidarity with the Delta workers. It was clear that the speakers believed the new Delta unions are necessary in order to properly protect workers, and that the election would have already happened if not for absurdly restrictive Railway Labor Act, a law which requires over 50% of the 18,000 workers nationwide to sign a union card within an arbitrary 12-month period, causing many union authorization cards to expire. Despite the many difficulties and roadblocks they face, the theme of the night was about hope, and believing in the power of worker solidarity.
The Delta workers’ main reasons to unionize are industry-equitable pay, protection from workplace harassment and disciplinary action, and better healthcare. Delta’s record profits have not been matched with equitable increases in worker wages, benefits, and safety protections.
The union activists really need help getting 4,000 more union authorization cards nationwide in these final months of the fight, most of which will come from re-signing cards. Currently, DSA and Delta workers are hosting “Solidarity Saturdays” every two weeks, which involves calling Delta workers to encourage them to re-sign an expired union card. TCDSA signed up 36 people at the rally to help with Solidarity Saturdays. The next Solidarity Saturday is this Saturday, Feb. 8, 10am – 12pm at the office of the International Association of Machinists, 7851 Metro Parkway, Bloomington, MN 55425. Mark your calendar and join us!
By Pat G, Ramy K, & Dani C
Unions attending and supporting the event included: MFT59, Education MN, SEIU 26, AFSCME, LIUNA, ATU, IUPAT, Building Trades, Teamsters, UE Grad Workers, Teamsters 320 – MN, Teamsters 120, SEIU HCMNIA, AFSCME 3800, AFSCME 1842 – St. Paul, MN Workers United, MN AFL-CIO, UFCW 663, UAW, and MNA.
Speakers at the rally included: Congressional Representative Betty McCollum, Mpls City Councilmembers Wonsley and Chughtai, and Mpls Federation of Teachers President Marcia Howard, as well as Delta workers and industry union leaders Kera Peterson, President of SPRLF, Tiffany Lopez, Associate Organizer of IAM Union, Jarrod Anderson and Becca Martes, both MSP Delta Flight Attendants, Rob LaVigne and Amanda Goodman-Berry both MSP Delta Air Lines workers and DSA members.