Amid a feud between Delta Air Lines, the International Association of Machinists union and a number of U.S. senators who accused the airline of being anti-union, Delta CEO Ed Bastian fired back at Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in a letter defending the company's track record with its employees, but also admitted an anti-union campaign flyer found in the airline's breakrooms was "poorly crafted and not an appropriate communication."
The Atlanta-based airline has been taking heat on Twitter and social media for a flyer that Delta officials say is a year old and was once in its breakrooms. It was removed after a week.
The flyer implied that union dues would be better spent on a video-game system, and has been criticized by many pro-union activists and politicians on social media.
Sanders, Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and seven other senators wrote letters to Bastian on May 15 urging him to "end Delta's anti-union tactics, make it clear to all managers that they should do the same, and allow Delta workers to decide the question of unionization free from fear, intimidation or retaliation."
Five days later, Bastian responded to Sanders to "clear up misconceptions." In the letter, he partly agreed with Sanders and the other senators about the flyer, but continued to defend the airline's treatment of its employees.
"I agree that the communication recently cited by the IAM – a year-old flyer that was in our breakrooms and removed after a week – was poorly crafted and not an appropriate communication to our people," Bastian wrote in the letter. "That's not who we are, and we have taken steps to make sure future messages to our people regarding their choices on representation are always meaningful and respectful of their rights."
International Association of Machinists (IAM), the organization criticized in the flyer, has been looking to organize Delta flight attendants and baggage handlers. Last week, the organization filed interference charges with the National Mediation Board against the airline for "an unlawful, systemic anti-union campaign that includes intimidation, discipline and terminations of union activists," according to an IAM statement.
Bastian wrote in the letter to Sanders that Delta (NYSE: DAL) will always be "pro-people" and its employees have been "at the heart of our business for nearly 100 years."
He wrote that employees have seen their base pay increase by more than 30 percent on average in the last five years, and the airline "provides strong, middle-class jobs."
"Your tweet that ramp agents earn $9 per hour is simply wrong – starting salaries are nearly double that rate," Bastian wrote in the letter. "And at the top of scale, after 12 years of service, our airport agents and flight attendants earn $74,000 and mechanics earn $121,000 annually. Across the board, these are the best-rewarded airline employees in the world. Rightfully so."
