Delta Air Lines Boosts Employee Wages Amid Unionization Efforts

Delta Air Lines has announced a significant wage increase for its flight attendants and ground workers, enhancing pay by 5% and elevating the minimum wage for U.S. employees to $19 per hour. This move by the Atlanta-based carrier, which leads in profitability among U.S. airlines, also includes provisions for merit raises. This wage adjustment will benefit over 80,000 nonunion employees at Delta.

CEO Ed Bastian communicated the changes in a memo to staff, emphasizing Delta’s ongoing commitment to providing top-tier compensation for exceptional performance. This latest pay raise is part of a broader trend at Delta, where pay for major work groups has increased by 20% to 25% since 2022, including base pay and profit-sharing components. In 2023, the airline distributed $1.4 billion in profit-sharing among its employees.

Delta’s financial success is notable, with the airline reporting a profit of $4.6 billion last year—its highest since the pre-pandemic year of 2019 and more than the combined profits of United, American, Southwest, and Alaska Airlines.

The timing of the wage increase is crucial as it precedes another attempt by a union to represent Delta’s flight attendants. The Association of Flight Attendants, led by President Sara Nelson, is actively working to gather enough support to initiate an election by the end of the year. Despite Delta’s efforts to enhance pay and benefits, Nelson argues that the flight attendants deserve to lead in terms of pay and benefits, given the company’s substantial profits.

This development comes at a time when union movements are gaining momentum in the traditionally nonunion South, highlighted by a recent victory for the United Auto Workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee. With unions securing stronger footholds, the landscape for labor relations at Delta might be shifting, potentially influencing future negotiations and employee representation.