Delta Air Lines, facing another union attempt to organize flight attendants, is raising their pay

Delta Air Lines, the most profitable U.S. carrier, is raising pay for nonunion employees as it gets ready for another attempt by a union to represent its flights attendants.

CEO Ed Bastian told Delta employees Monday that the airline will boost pay for flight attendants and ground workers by 5%, raise the minimum wage for U.S. workers to $19 per hour, and set aside money for merit raises.

Delta said the increases affect more than 80,000 employees.

“With this increase in base pay and starting rates, we continue our commitment to provide Delta people with industry-leading total compensation for industry-leading performance,” Bastian wrote in a memo to staff. He said the company has raised pay among major work groups by a cumulative 20% to 25% since 2022.

That figure includes base pay and profit-sharing. Delta gave employees $1.4 billion in profit-sharing for 2023.