Delta Flying Into Union Storm

It would be unwise, however, to underestimate Delta, which has been successfully executing its various strategies since entering bankruptcy in 2005. Before its Chapter 11 filing, Delta seemed bent on squandering the world's biggest hub in Atlanta on connections to Florida and a mystifying effort to match fares with low-cost competitor AirTran(AAI Quote). But a restructured Delta utilizes its hubs to connect passengers to premium global destinations.

Delta did not rest on its laurels, but rather pursued a merger with Northwest, operator of a Tokyo hub that filled the biggest gap in its network. It enlisted its powerful pilots union as its chief ally, not only gaining support from a key constituency but also avoiding the pilot infighting that soured the 2005 merger of US Airways(LCC Quote) and America West.

Now Delta is betting that it retains enough of a genteel yet aggressively antiunion Southern culture to continue to ward off the labor movement. It is confident enough that Mike Campbell, executive vice president for human resources, is complaining of delays in the union representation voting, in effect telling unions to bring it on.

Union elections following an airline merger require the National Mediation Board to first declare that the airline has achieved "single carrier" status. In the case of the pilots, a joint request from the airline and the pilots for a ruling came quickly, in November 2008. But the other work groups have been slower.

The AFA filed July 27, while the IAM filed on Aug. 13 for fleet service workers, but has not yet filed for reservations agents and airport agents. Meanwhile, last month the AFL-CIO's Transportation Trades Department wrote to the NMB, requesting a change in Railway Labor Act voting methodology, which requires that unions gain support from a majority of eligible voters, rather than a majority of actual voters, to win a union election.