LISTEN: Workers at Delta are campaigning for a union and in the latest push to organize, they held a rally near the airport. GPB's Amanda Andrews has more.
Delta Air Lines ramp workers and their supporters gathered near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Wednesday to rally for union representation.
Workers stood outside through pouring rain to demand Delta allow them to campaign and vote on being represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM, without interference.
Only 20% of Delta workers, pilots and dispatchers, are unionized, making it the only major U.S. airline where the majority of employees are not represented.
Amanda Goodmanberry has been a Delta ramp worker for 27 years and a union organizer since 2009. She said the airline tries to scare workers away from organizing.
“So I do not see that they're respecting this drive, and they need to step back and allow us to unionize,” Goodmanberry said, “And if we win, we win. If we lose, we lose. At least give us a chance to do that.”
Delta workers have had two previously unsuccessful union drives, but Goodmanberry said, as a worker, this campaign feels different.
“You're not gonna police my vote, you're not gonna police our tone, you're not gonna police us,” she said. “We're gonna do it, and we're going to do it today. So this is what has changed. People are willing to stand up and tell Delta to back off.”
In February, hundreds of members of Congress signed a letter asking Delta CEO Ed Bastian to sign a neutrality agreement ahead of employees union vote.
Georgia state Rep. Kim Schofield oversees District 63, which includes Hartsfield-Jackson. She said she stands with Delta workers.
“I'm out in the rain for my people," Schofield said at the rally on Wednesday. “This is about the people's voice. It's time that we step up and we have equity. Unions are the backbone of America, and Georgia has lagged behind in workers' rights. We can't continue to say we're the best place of anything and we treat our workers badly.”
Employees have reported threats of consequences if they choose union representation. IAM Human Rights Director Nicole Fears said unionizing is about more than just compensation.
“It's about the simple things that matter. It's about the fact that they have equipment on the ramp that is old and should not be there,” she said. “And because Delta is so powerful in the state, there is no oversight to come on board that tarmac and determine whether or not that equipment should be removed from operation.”
IAM is one of the largest trade unions in the country, and this current campaign would organize about 20,000 ramp, cargo, and tower workers at Delta Air Lines.
