Leslie is joined by Deputy Director of the Teamsters' Airline Division, Bob Fisher.

First, Bob breaks down how Mechanics and related classifications at FedEx Express, the largest cargo airline in the United States, have launched an organizing drive to join the Teamsters.

The workers’ campaign to form their union grew organically, with the mechanics reaching out to the union, signing thousands of authorization cards, and taking other actions to move along the organizing process all on their own.

Second, Leslie and Bob discuss the unprecedented news that the Teamsters, the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM), and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) have united to organize roughly 45,000 Delta Air Lines workers.

The Teamsters represent tens of thousands of aviation technicians. Those at companies like United Airlines and UPS Air Cargo are among the highest paid in the craft. Their collective bargaining agreements have raised the bar across the entire industry.

However, Delta has been difficult to unionize in the past and has the fewest union members of the four largest passenger carriers (only the pilots and controllers are unionized).

A big part of the reason that Delta's techs are organizing is because they have serious concerns about job security.

Without a union, they can be terminated for any reason or no reason at all. They also have no protection against outsourcing to foreign repair stations.

Outsourcing is a big problem in aircraft maintenance. Not only does it lead to less good-paying union jobs in America. It also threatens passenger safety. Delta outsources a great deal of its fleet maintenance.

Atlanta is Delta Air Lines’ headquarters and reportedly the largest employer in the city. An organizing victory at the company would be a monumental achievement – not just for the aviation craft, but for the entire labor movement in the South.

The Teamsters represent members in the airline industry, including mechanics, customer service agents, reservationists, simulator technicians, ramp agents, stock clerks, dispatch personnel, flight attendants and pilots.

The Teamsters Airline Division continues to negotiate some of the best contracts in the industry, making Teamster contracts and membership the best choice for airline-industry employees. Over the past few years, the Teamsters Airline Division has focused its efforts not only on giving their members a voice in the workplace and in Washington, but also on being a voice for the American traveling public.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow them on X and Instagram, where their handle is @Teamsters, and “like” them on Facebook at Facebook.com/Teamsters.