Delta Air Lines has today announced that employees will be getting a 4% pay increase as of June 1, 2026. Well, all non-union employees…
Continue reading: Non-Union Delta Employees Get 4% Pay Raises, Despite Industry Headwinds
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Good for them; however, when this downturn hits them hard, they’ll have near no protections, unlike their union counterparts. Delta’s flight attendants, baggage handlers, and maintenance technicians really should join their pilots (since 1934!) and dispatchers in organizing and collective bargaining.
Delta has long led the industry in paying its people well and has stepped that up post covid because Delta has done a better job of generating revenue to cover higher labor costs than any airline.
The timing, of course, comes as UA FAs vote on a new contract that was touted as being "industry leading" based on future pay raises in a contract years down the road. DL's pay increases that were just announced destroys the AFA and UA's narrative -as was bound to happen.
UA mechanics and other groups are still waiting for company to settle for them.
It is virtually unheard of for a company to lead its industry by having higher costs but that is what DL is doing; many other airlines in the US industry will continue to struggle with high labor costs in the midst of high fuel costs.
the chances are high that most of the US airline industry will not make money. DL made 55% of US profits in 2025 and that percentage will grow further in 2026. DL employees will be higher paid than the vast majority of global airline employees.
When corporate starts laying off non-union folks… let’s revisit your platitudes…
were you born yesterday?
DL has been around for 100 years and the US airline industry has faced multiple downturns which DL has fared better than its competitors.
that is fact and not your usual fear mongering.
DL employees are smart enough to see that they fare better than their unionized peers including not having to wait years to settle labor contracts even before considering their higher pay including profit sharing.
you do realize that, even before the oil crisis, UA said it would lay off 4% of its management staff due to AI?
This isn't the airline industry or the US' economy's first slip on a banana. DL has a 100 year track record of providing better compensation and better job protections than the vast majority of the US airline industry and indeed most of corporate America as well.
You do realize that WN broke its 50 plus year tradition of no layoffs?
Ad hominem attacks are a sign of weakness, not strength.
Union members enjoy profit-sharing and protections; non-union enjoy profit-sharing, but no protections. It’s a fact.
I care about these workers, and we all know their best interests would be better served during a downturn if they have protections.
Please, feel free to call me silly names. That’ll make you look ‘great.’
By all means, if these corporations want to reduce overhead by reducing bloated, overpaid corporate management, please do. Keep the crews, maintenance, baggage handlers, gate agents, actual live domestic call center support, and other essential staff that actually make the airline run reliably, comfortably, and efficiently. Delta doesn’t need more overpaid upper management. Finally, we’re making progress together here…
"DL has been around for 100 years and the US airline industry has faced multiple downturns which DL has fared better than its competitors."
I see you conveniently forgot about Delta bankruptcy in this century
ad hominen is repeating the same thing over and over and over again with no connection to reality
DL employees enjoy CORPORATE AMERICA - not just the airline industry's - best profit sharing.
DL employees simply do not suffer from a lack of job protections. If they did, you and others should be able to provide proof. You can't because there is no benefit for unionized airline workers in any form.
I am sure you care about workers - right under your "care" for the socialist ideals that you incessantly spew and which simply don't work.
DL is one of the few countries in the world that has proven it can make a largely non-union environment work better than its unionized competitors.
Accept it and given them the win instead of incessantly fabricating things that simply are not true.
As long as you continue down the path you are on, you deserve to be called out even w/ "silly names"
What protections? Did the union save all the airline jobs post the dot com crash and then 9/11? Nope. Post the self induced by bankers (most of whom vote Democrat) financial meltdown? Nope. The immediate aftermath of the COVID scam? No there too.
"Industry Headwinds" ? With CEOs being paid tens of millions yearly , there are no "headwinds" . The future "headwind" they are worried about is if the customers get wise to the rip-offs .
you as the presumed American taxpayer saved union and non-union jobs alike during every one of those crises.
Unionized airlines were the ones during covid that laid off employees when Congress didn't move fast enough to provide cash to airlines.
It had and has nothing to do with Dem or Rep... airines are considered essential enough and are big enough that no one in Washington is willing to let one fail and that is true even as NK's future hangs in the balance.
Delta just happens to be in the strongest position to outlast a whole lot of other airlines - and they accelerate consolidation of the industry in part by continuing to raise the pay of its people.
and he also forgot the inconvenient truth that close to half of the employees at the time of the merger with NW were unionized. Only through sheer numbers at DL did the union vote not succeed.
And he forgot to mention that profit sharing, is another way to saying, "you're taking a pay concession, and your compensation is now due to profitability which you will help us achieve by worse work rules, and additional concessions.
In 2004, Delta pilots agreed to ~32.5% pay cuts, saving the airline about $1 billion annually.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/delta-pilots-take-325-pay-cut/
" Delta's expanded plan also includes pay cuts and job reductions for employees throughout the company, which Grinstein said "will be shared by all Delta people equitably and within the context of comprehensive business plan," including an opportunity for employees to share in future success through enhanced profit-sharing.
Approximately $930 million in annual financial benefits are intended to be realized through reduced employment costs, employee productivity improvements and overhead reductions. This total represents annual savings of $325 million from Delta pilots and $605 million from the non-pilot work force, including management."
"ad hominen is repeating the same thing over and over and over again with no connection to reality"
Literally not what an ad hominem argument is.
and yet, in this case, it is accurate including pushing socialist ideals. Some might see that as a personal attack but it is accurate.
more significant to this article, the claims that DL employees suffer from being non-union is just not supported by reality which has been proven over decades.
and you realize that AA laid off unionized frontline workers when the feds didn't come through fast enough w/ covid aid?
those were UNIONIZED workers, not mgmt
Also to mention Delta is going through a major reorg an i planning to layoff about 10% of its corporate staff. This just started this week.
in other words, you can't provide CURRENT facts that show that DL employees are the highest paid so you provide post 9/11 era articles.
Meanwhile, UA FAs are voting on a contract that WAS SUPPOSED TO make them the highest paid but that claim has just been destroyed by DL - as some of us said would be the case.
The only shocker is that DL was bold enough to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on labor expenses even as fuel is at very high levels and is expected to do so - just to send a message to UA FAs that they really won't be the best paid - and to shut Kirby and Ko. up about claims about how well his FAs are or will be.
Tim once again forgets about how Delta FAs have no sick leave so are encouraged to work while they are unwell. He forgets that they have no recourse if they are fired, he forgets that scheduling can (and constantly does) break their “rules” because they don’t have a contract.
I would also say Delta has a history of sexual abuse for FAs by pilots, as the pilots are unionized they have their legal fees covered and the FAs are left to fend for themselves. There’s a number of Delta pilots that have sexual assault charges that are still flying at Delta lol. There’s also rumours that Ed himself loves to get hands with flight attendants when he’s aboard…
I’d also add that Delta has a worse flight benefit system and worse interlining overall leading to worse flight benefits for staff than AA or UA - this isn’t a union thing this is just the point that there is more to life than money Tim.
On the topic of money Tim, you have previously estimated that United’s earnings are overstated by about $1B because of the labor contracts etc, this must mean that Delta is now closing the gap down to United’s earnings by $500M - it’s tough out there when you’re expected to have the best wages in the industry.
Tim, here are examples of ad hominem.
Tim Dunn is a lying fluff because he lives under the bridge and eats Delta strain cannabis.
Anyone who eats this cannabis strain is dumb and will always confuse between fact or fiction. Too delusional to have a conversation. Therefore we should just make fun of him.
Tim also hate unions because even the unions, who would gladly take anyone's money for free, still refuse to accept Tim as a member. Tim is THAT fluffy delusional.
and your and Max' points are ?
the charge that DL pays its non-union people well is eliminated by the fact that its unionized pilots are also paid above average.
DL pays its people well because it is good for business to have well-paid employees.
DL considered merging w/ UA when UA was in the industry's longest and most expensive bankruptcy in part to get the UA Pacific route system but chose not to do so because they didn't want to risk becoming unionized.
DL merged w/ NW and tens of thousands of NW employees became non-union in a matter of months.
DL has simply done better than the rest of the industry and outlasted a number of competitors even as it has grown in more other airline strength markets than any other US airline.
@Tim Dunn what do you have to say now that they started laying off corporate folks this week. They plan to reduce the merit workforce around 10% despite Ed saying last week AI will not affect jobs.
DL, like many companies trims the bottom X percent of merit employees on a regular basis. Downturns are the timing when those cuts are often made.
That is the risk of being in a merit vs. a frontline position.
Other airlines are doing the same thing. It is doubtful that the salary expenses that DL "saves" from cutting mgmt people will come close to what they will spend on frontline employee salary increases.
You mean you can't debate actual facts so you attack the messenger that gets it right.
No, I don't hate unions. I hate people that push union messages and can't back up their statements w/ actual facts.
Tell us WITH FACTS how DL employees are worse off w/o a union. You can't because they simply aren't and you can't argue any differently.
Moving the goal posts doesn't strengthen your argument. And you're whole UA vs DL FA rant just makes you look stupid and petty. This is not a pissing contest.
Direct quote from you, "DL has a 100 year track record of providing better compensation and better job protections than the vast majority of the US airline industry and indeed most of corporate America as well."
Prove it. Over 100 years? And yet I just pointed out that they slashed salaries, laid off staff, and increase work rule requirements to their staff, and declared bankruptcy in 2004. Did CO declare bankruptcy post 9-11?
"DL has been around for 100 years and the US airline industry has faced multiple downturns which DL has fared better than its competitors."
Really. Tell that to Southwest Airlines.
You're a joke
Tim.
So many have told you WITH FACTS for decades.
You just, as always being you, ignore the facts you don't like. While including irrelevant fluff as facts.
Jet fuel has more than doubled in price which increases costs for all airlines. I would say that’s a significant headwind when your annual costs increased by billions quickly and unexpectedly. Especially in an industry where margins are very slim.
the topic is fairly narrow.
Either DL's non-union employees fare better than their unionized counterparts or they don't.
YOU should be able to accurately answer that charge - but you level personal attacks.
See below. At least someone else tries even if they get facts wrong.
so it is ok for you to "move the goal posts" and bring up 25 year old history but I should not point out that UA went through the longest and most costly bankruptcy and its employees lost their pensions - as did US employees - while DL non-union employees plus NW and AA employees did not?
UA FAs have waited 5 years for a contract and will get retro and can't recover the lost time value of money while DL employees have consistently gotten pay raises.
WN employees USED to get some of the best profit sharing but don't now because WN has not been anywhere close to as profitable as they once were.
Economically, DL employees have been in the best position in the industry for more than a decade.
And the charges of non-economic hardship that DL non-union employees is just lame and made up = devoid of facts
Andy,
you really stoop to new lows - and only harm your credibility to speak about real economic issues in the process.
feel free to provide evidence of this supposed sexual abuse of DL FAs. Really, you don't mind wallowing in the gutter because you refuse to accept the fact that DL employees really do have it better off than their peers at other airlines.
the rest of what you state doesn't even merit a reply
I agree of course. It would be much better if the airline had no profitability, suffered huge losses, and eventually just went out of business. The protections DO work so well in Europe, especially at the Lufthansa Group!
@ Tim, since you chose to ignore facts, I'm curious how you're going to wiggle out of this one;
United has more widebodies than DL. They also serve way more long haul flights than DL. Both companies pay higher rates for widebodies plus long haul tends to have higher credit efficiency (i.e., your productive time is higher than doing multi-narrow body hops).
So while DL's pay/hour is higher than UA, it doesn't tell the whole picture. You're way more likely to he able to hold a W/B line more junior in your career at United than at Delta. Therefore, the United pilot is likely to have higher pay, and more time off than a narrow body pilot for longer.
Given the order book for 787s at United, this gap widens significantly. On top to that, United flies to more long haul and ultra long haul destinations than Delta thus increasing the opportunity to make more money on W/B than narrowbody.
So United pilots have a higher ceiling to earn more money on average than Delta pilots. They have more access to fly W/B aircraft and likely better quality of life.
Delta does have better floor earning potential. But you're likely to be stuck there longer than you would be at United. Delta also has arguably better work rules and profit sharing than United, but that likely washes out in absolute terms.
So the morale of the story, they are different airlines on different missions. Therefore, they have different contracts, with pluses and minuses depending on what your work/life balance is.
@ Tim, are you not reading what you're shoveling?> You, not me, said "DL has a 100 year track record of providing better compensation and better job protections than the vast majority of the US airline industry and indeed most of corporate America as well."
So it's wrong for me to point out 25 years ago, that Delta was overpaying their employees (because they matched United's contract IIFC), then had to slash pay and benefits as a result? But you're allowed to say in 100 years, Delta is the best company in 'most of corporate' America?
Give it a rest.
you are the one that needs to give it a rest.
a 100 year advantage does not mean that DL has never faced a crisis which cost some of their employees.
It means that, over 100 years, and esp. since deregulation, DL employees have fared better than their peers at other airlines - both for unionized pilots (and dispatchers) and non-union employees that are the majority of the airline.
You love to pick out anecdotes from the past while ignoring the overall trend and specific much more current data - and THAT is why you are wrong.
You and alot of other UA fans love to pick out anecdotes but can NEVER manage to put all of the data together to show a coherent and longstanding advantage for UA and even now in the present.
you can't stand to admit that DL employees have it better and most of them don't need to pay someone to argue w/ the company and come up short in the end -as well as in the beginning and the middle.
"ad hominen is repeating the same thing over and over and over again with no connection to reality"
That is hilarious. You would think LTD would know what all the fallacies are as he uses so many of them so regularly. Here is the Wikipedia page for reference LTD.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fallacies
See Tim, unless you can jump between multiverse. No one can "accurately" tell if DL employees are better off as a union or not. Because in this multiverse, they aren't under a union.
Correlation is not causality.
Just because Delta uses passport plum, doesn't make that color more profitable to business.
And I'm not doing a personal attack. I'm merely pointing out to you what ad hominem is. Which in this multiverse everyone except you can accurately confirm your statement "ad hominen is repeating the same thing over and over and over again with no connection to reality" IS NOT.
But you would just ignore both of it.
LOL.
DTWNYC and rest from the other forums you seek shelter provided "CURRENT facts" to you since 9/11 for 25 years.
You just chose to ignore it for 25 years then finally calling it "25 year old history".
Hilarious. Time to do a new monologue about Tim Dunn. Or maybe I should just recycle them. It'll take him 25 years before he realizes it anyway.
all you two goons need to do is look at the average spent on employee compensation based on the number of employees and see the answer.
Let us know what you find; I don't expect to change my position
and yet UA's average total compensation and benefits is less than DL.
your theory just didn't work.
If UA's large international network was superior, UA would get higher profits, revenues, and their employees would be paid more.
however, none of that is true
you can't accept that 25 years of history include UA's longest and most expensive bankruptcy which left ALL of its employees without a pension.
YOu simply want to pick and choose history and the present that you want to present because you can't accept either the current or the totality of the past.
You just need to accept that there are alot of things that DL does well - even better than its competitors.
Employee relations and compensation is one of them.
because your "facts" don't show the narrative you want.
DL and UA spent almost identical amounts on labor cost for the first quarter but DL had thousands fewer employees even though DL has a wholly owned regional airline but UA does not.
UA's employees ON AVERAGE are paid less than DL's.
You desperately want to prove that UA's strategy of flying a much larger international operation pays its people better but that is simply not reality.
DL flies a far higher percentage of its schedule on mainline aircraft and yet even part of DL's regional jet program still is not enough to bring down DL's average compensation.
and let's not forget that UA's labor costs will increase this year so perhaps the two will be closer in average labor costs per employee- but that has far from been verified.
and DL will be raising its employee pay by 4% for most groups even if they are reportedly laying off some merit employees.
for now, DL employees make more on average than AA or UA employees. THAT is fact
I find Tim Dunn is desperately trying to compare multiverses. And has no idea what ad hominem is.
Wait Tim.
You are the one who brought up the totality and refuse the 25 years.
Not DTWNYC
all you have to do is debate the facts I raise.... but since you can't, you try to denigrate me.
NO, I brought up thte totality of 100 years.
He decided to bring in a 25 year data point but then winces when I remember him that includes UA's bankruptcy which wiped out UA employee pensions.
He lost the argument and you can't stand to admit I am right over the past 100 years, 25 years ago, and now.
@Powerball Winner
Do some research. Delta hedges fuel through its ownership of the Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania through Delta subsidiary Monroe Energy. At current prices, Delta says that the refinery will provide about $300 million of benefit in Q2, cushioning part of the same fuel spike that is hurting its rivals.
As a top of pay scale Delta FA, I’ll take the raise. I made over 100k last year working on average 12 days a month. Could make even more. There is no limit to your income. The position offers incredible flexibility and a job that is self-managed. Not included are a myriad of other benefits and worldwide travel. The misinformed people who want a union at Delta need to get educated. The union see 30,000+ FAs as a money maker for them and their cronies. If you want a union airline, go work for a union airline. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Exactly !!!!!!!!!!!
Tim, that's called ad hominem.
LOL, sometimes Tim can be very funny.
see the DL FA's post above.
You can't stand it when I know the pulse of the industry and am right
Red herring. AAL, the weakest big3, had $55 billion in revenue. Executive pay is such a small part of it, it is insignificant. But, it allows leftists to have a splashy talking point for the naive. Isom's total compensation would buy each employee one ($4) coffee a week.
And, I'm sure non-union DL employees will be crying themselves to sleep chanting "I just want a union."
you might wish that I was fired but I have remained gainfully employed continuously for longer than you have likely been alive.