Delta’s pay increase includes a 5% raise for flight attendants and ground workers, a minimum wage increase to $19 per hour for U.S. workers, and funds set aside for merit raises. The company has raised pay for major work groups by a total of 20% to 25% since 2022, including profit-sharing. Delta earned a record $4.6 billion last year, the highest since before the pandemic disrupted travel.
Despite Delta’s financial success, only 20% of its employees are unionized, the lowest percentage among the nation’s four largest airlines. The Association of Flight Attendants is seeking to change that, hoping to gather enough authorization cards to trigger an election by the end of the year. Delta flight attendants narrowly voted against unionizing in 2010, with previous organizing campaigns failing in 2002 and 2008.
