Washington, D.C. (May 22, 2020) — The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA) is responding to the letter that Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) sent to Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian raising serious concerns about their decision to cut the hours of their employees after receiving financial assistance under the CARES Act.
The letter reads in part:
"Your decision to cut employee hours is inconsistent with congressional intent and is a blatant and potentially illegal effort to skirt your requirements to keep workers on payroll, and you should reverse this policy immediately…
At least one airline receiving CARES Act assistance, United Airlines, has already reversed its decision to reduce the hours of all employees, and instead is allowing employees to volunteer to reduce their hours. You should do the same. And you should not take one penny more of bailout funds unless you are prepared to protect your workers."
AFA President Sara Nelson released the following statement on the letter:
"In the middle of an economic crisis for working people, Delta executives are hoarding billions in taxpayer dollars that the law requires be paid to their employees. While other major airlines used federal funds to maintain full pay and benefits, Delta management feels entitled to cheat taxpayers and workers. That won't fly. We call on Delta management to reverse course immediately, pay their workers as Congress intended, and stop undermining the people of this industry."
