My husband has been working on the ramp at the airport for 8 1/2 years, he's been in many different positions and recently got a decent promotion. He was also part of several union drives at his work place, the last one which started in early 2010. They really thought this last time was going to be it, it was very demoralizing when it failed.
First let me explain how the ramp works at airports now, at least those served by Delta. Delta basically outsources its ramp work to smaller companies, most of these companies are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Delta. The crew who handles your baggage, cleans your cabin, ensures safety when the plane is parked, and even sometimes the gate agents who get your your ticket and help you board the plane on a Delta flight, aren't technically Delta employees.
This has major advantages for Delta. Most of these subsidiaries aren't unionized, so Delta doesn't have any pesky contracts to deal with. This keeps wages low. But there is another advantage. Let's say a subsidiary has been in place for a while and some of their employees have been there for a while because the economy is bad and they can't find anything better. This subsidiary also happens to have somewhat decent health coverage for their employees and some of them get 4 or 5 weeks of PTO a year because they've earned this seniority privilege.
Suddenly more money is going to the workers of this company instead of into profits. And remember, this is a wholly-owned subsidiary, so Delta is the company who profits. Well it's time to kick that subsidiary out and put in a different one that doesn't spend so much money on labor.
Last time this happened it was more of a take over with the NWA and Delta merger and the employees kept their seniority and wages for the most part.
This time it's working essentially as if these employees are quitting their jobs at one company and starting new at another company. This means seniority will be wiped out and everyone will be starting at the bottom of the wage scale, which for a general ramp worker is $8.25 an hour. And everyone might have to reapply for their job.
They could have done this with a little less douchbaggery, but there is talk that they want to end seniority, but still keep everyone's disciplinary record on hand. The severance is also a crappy $750. Normally severance is 1 weeks pay per year, which would have meant 8 weeks of pay for my husband, instead he'll get a whole $750, which is just barely over one week of pay. ONE week of pay for his 8.5+ years of service, which included two pay cuts.
There are also rumors that the new company has worse health coverage. Health coverage at his current company was one reason my husband stayed at this job so long, it's very cheap for us to cover our whole family on his insurance, dental too. Chances are out of pocket costs will increase.
Ramp workers are important! It might not require a college degree but these people inspect planes to make sure nothing goes in the airplane that might cause the plane to crash, they insure that your luggage gets on the plane and that the plane isn't overloaded, which can also make planes crash. They make sure the plane isn't damaged when it is entering and exiting the ramp. They are also the people who clean the vomit of the guy who was on the plane before you so you don't have to sit in it.
Pay is not well related to work performance, but it is important when you are talking about huge wage and benefit cuts because good workers are going to leave, some have left already. They are making this job not worth it in the long haul, which means good employees, the ones like my husband, who have been around for a while and know what they are doing, are probably going to leave when they can find something better. And they haven't set the bar that high.
For you, the airline consumer, who has to travel by Delta, this means more lost bags, more late departures, less clean planes, and possibly less inspected ramp areas. Basically a worse airplane ride, and all of this while air fares are climbing. You are now paying more and getting less.
This is how capitalism works. This is why unions are so important. This is my concrete example of people hurt by corporate greed. And it is not just us, it is everyone who flies on Delta an probably any other airline. Because they are all competing against each other to out-profit the others, this is what will be happening throughout the industry.
Happy Flying!
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