Resolved clause"""Resolved: Shareholders request the Board of Directors issue a report on Delta Air Lines, Inc. (the “Company”) expenditures that are intended or could be viewed as intended to dissuade employees from joining or supporting unions (“union suppression”). In addition to internal Company expenses made for union suppression, the report should include disclosure of expenditures made to any outside entities, including:
Disclosure of the for-hire entities’ identities, fees, hours, remits and work performed in relation to employee unionization and collective bargaining efforts, as well as other services they are hired to perform for the Company. Description of the Board’s oversight of these for-hire entities; and, Disclosure of the for-hire entities’ adherence to the Company’s policies including reference to any legal and/or regulatory enforcement matters wherein the for-hire entities are involved. """
Supporting statement"""Supporting Statement: Since 2019, Delta employees have engaged in union organizing efforts, and Delta has taken a variety of steps to dissuade employees from joining or supporting unions, including: creating and maintaining a website, playing videos in workplace rest areas, and distributing posters, flyers, and other printed materials to employees. In addition to the direct expenses entailed in developing and distributing these communications, Delta has been criticized for the content of these materials, including a flyer that urged employees to spend money on video games rather than union dues.
These actions by Delta potentially create legal, regulatory, and reputational risks for the Company. U.S. public support for unions is at historic levels. Investors increasingly recognize that effective human capital management may lead to greater diversity, lower turnover, higher productivity, and improved regulatory compliance, which are important to long-term shareholder value. Moreover, as one union avoidance consultant puts it, even if a company blocks unionization, “a lot of damage is done to the employer-employee relationship. You cannot overtly or obscurely threaten people and expect them to remain committed to the organization. A culture of intimidation is created, and that type of culture will lower productivity, create workplace stress, and increase turnover.”[1] Accounts of employer efforts to dissuade workers from unionizing support this assessment.[2]
Companies are required to file public reports on certain financial dealings with their employees and unions, as well as their expenditures to persuade employees about exercising their rights to organize and bargain collectively. However, the only filings Delta has made since 2006 refer to office space used by the pilots' union. Additionally, while third-party entities, such as labor consultants who are hired by an employer to develop and execute union suppression efforts, are also required to file similar documentation, no filings reflecting such work for Delta appear.
Press reports indicate that employers are often slow to file required reports with the U.S. Department of Labor, if they ever do so.[3] Shareholders are entitled to know how their Company is utilizing the capital they have entrusted to it, to assess its appropriateness. We urge you to vote FOR this resolution.
[1] https://projectionsinc.com/unionproof/staying-union-free-strategies/
[2] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/workers-wanted-a-union-then-the-mysterious-men-showed-up_n_64b7dd60e4b0dcb4cab68347?gmc
[3] https://prospect.org/labor/companies-required-to-report-their-union-busting-many-dont/; https://prospect.org/justice/2023-10-05-lawyers-not-persuaders-littler-mendelson/; https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-we-know-so-little-about-the-us-union-busting-industry_n_64c28622e4b03ad2b897077f """