Delta Air Lines Sends Cease-and-Desist Letter to Flight Attendant Unions
Jan 12, 2022 By MarketDepth
Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) sent a cease-and-desist letter Wednesday to one of the country’s largest flight attendant unions. The carrier claims the union is spreading “misinformation” which is “false and defamatory” against Delta.
Lower Isolation Period
Amid the ongoing staffing shortage, in December Delta asked the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce its recommended isolation period from 10 days to five days. The CDC eventually made the adjustment to its guidance on December 27. However, the Association of Flight Attendants sent a letter to the CDC opposing the action and critiqued Delta’s request to shorten the wait time.
Spreading Misinformation
In a tweet, Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, clarified that the union had received “Multiple reports” which stated that Delta “is telling workers across work groups that they should come to work w/ symptoms even if someone in the household tested positive.” Additionally, she said Covid positive employees had been told to “come to work after 5 days if the fever is below 100.9, even if still testing positive.”
Within a day Peter Carter, Delta’s chief legal officer, had sent AFA the letter.
“Not only is this information false, but it is actionable because it places Delta in a highly negative light by suggesting Delta was asking employees to work while they were ill,” said Carter’s letter. “Such irresponsible conduct is inappropriate, defamatory and must cease immediately.”
Peter Carter, Delta’s Chief Legal Officer
Nelson stood by her comments and revealed that Delta’s policies had caused confusion among flight crews.
“Delta’s policy now refers to being asymptomatic before returning to work, which was a serious concern as that CDC guidance was initially omitted from Delta’s policy announcement. But we are still getting questions from Delta flight attendants about returning to work with a low grade fever and about the fact that Delta’s current policy only recommends to test before returning to work and does not require a test.”
Delta CEO Ed Bastian
