Delta raises employee pay 5%, second increase in a year

Delta Airlines is raising employee salaries by 5%, the second time its employees have received raises in less than a year, as a sharp rebound in travel boosts carrier profits and the U.S. labor market tightens. she lives.

Delta raised employee pay 4 percent in May, the first increase since before the pandemic.

“Considering the depth of our losses during the pandemic, including a loss of $1 billion in the first quarter of last year, it is truly unprecedented,” CEO Ed Bastian wrote in a staff note on Tuesday. A remarkable achievement.” “I’m confident that in the coming months and years, our culture of high performance will propel us to new heights, and this payout pool will continue to grow.”

Delta said the new raises will take effect April 1 and apply to ground workers and flight attendants. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA launched a unionization campaign for Delta’s cabin crew members in late 2019.

The pay increases do not apply to Delta pilots, who are voting on a new contract proposal that includes a 34 percent raise over four years. If ratified, the pilots will receive an 18 percent raise on the date of signing.

Delta posted a profit of $1.32 billion last year, offset by a record loss of more than $12 billion in 2020 during the depths of the pandemic.

Atlanta-based Delta also plans to pay its crews more than $550 million in combined dividends later this month, Bastian said Tuesday.