BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — Thousands of Delta workers say they're on the cusp of forming a union for the first time.
It would include ramp and cargo agents who get your luggage where it needs to go. Except, they're accusing the airline of trying to put a stop to it.
"Delta isn’t going to quit trying to stop it, so we’re not going to quit trying to get it through," said worker Robert LaVigne.
The agents at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport say they have tried to form a union three times since Delta and Northwest Airlines announced a merger in 2008.
"I think people, after COVID, started realizing their worth," said LaVigne. "People wanted to have a voice."
An employee for nearly 15 years, LaVigne can load up to 7,000 pieces of luggage a day. He also moves other cargo, including thousands of pounds of mail and helps push planes back from the gate and park them.
"Anytime you tell someone you're a baggage handler they always joke, oh, you're the ones that lost my bag," said LaVigne. "I know how good we are at getting bags to where they need to go."
This go-around, the agents are teaming up with other unions for the first time, including the flight attendants, mechanics and machinists.
They accuse Delta of union busting tactics, so much that dozens of U.S. Senators signed a letter this month, asking the CEO not to interfere in union organizing activities.
LaVigne hopes the flourishing labor union movement continues, citing the high-profile strikes by Hollywood writers and actors to autoworkers.
"Baggage handling gets a bad rap, but it’s our career and we want to be the best at it and it shows," said LaVigne.
The group needs a majority of Delta workers across the country to trigger a vote to decide whether to unionize. That could come as soon as September, followed by negotiations and the intent of having a contract in as few as six months.
In response to the rally, a Delta spokesperson wrote in an email to KARE 11, "Delta respects our employees’ right to decide if union representation is right for them. We believe our direct relationship with employees has proven to be a stronger, faster, and more effective in driving improvements, which is why Delta employees have repeatedly rejected union representation from AFA and other groups over the past 20 years."
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