Civil rights coalition: Delta needs to boost diversity
By RUSSELL GRANTHAM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/15/08
Black employees have lost ground at Delta Air Lines in recent years, said a coalition of civil rights organizations that urged the Atlanta airline to improve its track record as it heads toward a merger with Northwest Airlines.
Delta needs to make increased racial diversity a "top priority issue, along with fuel and labor contract issues," longtime civil rights leader Joseph Lowery said Thursday at a press conference. Lowery, retired president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, was backed by representatives of several other organizations, including the NAACP and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
The Rev. Joseph Lowery said he hopes Delta will agree to minority hiring goals.For decades, such groups have raised similar concerns when big banks or other companies have proposed mergers in an effort to win promises to increase job and promotion opportunities for minorities and to boost business with minority-owned vendors.
A spokesman for Delta said the airline is working to increase the diversity of its work force. "Delta has a lot of respect for Rev. Lowery and shares his view that diversity is an important part of our business. We are continuing to implement programs that ensure that diversity is a top priority at Delta and are committed to maintaining this focus as we move forward with the merger," said Kent Landers, a Delta spokesman.
Thursday, the civil rights groups complained that only about 60 of Delta's 6,000 pilots are African-American, and that the company has one black vice president and four directors. Delta has about 130 officers and directors.
Lowery said the company lost ground in those areas in recent years as it cut jobs during its bankruptcy restructuring in 2005-2007. "Now that they are creating a new entity is a good time to start over," he said.
Lowery said Delta Chief Executive Richard Anderson called him Thursday to arrange a meeting on the groups' concerns, ending a month-long hiatus in such contacts, after a reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called the company regarding the planned press conference.
He said he hopes Delta will agree to minority hiring goals. If Delta doesn't, he said the groups "would use every recourse at our disposal," including possible complaints to federal agencies.
Landers said Delta officials plan to meet with Lowery.
He agreed that only about 1 percent of Delta's pilots are African-American, but said that's higher than the industry average. Landers said the number of black officers or directors at Delta has declined from a dozen in 2002 to six this year, but that the overall total of women or minority executives has remained steady, at 14.
"It has been a focus of Delta's to increase that number," he said. "We've had limited opportunities in recent years for hiring."
By RUSSELL GRANTHAM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/15/08
Black employees have lost ground at Delta Air Lines in recent years, said a coalition of civil rights organizations that urged the Atlanta airline to improve its track record as it heads toward a merger with Northwest Airlines.
Delta needs to make increased racial diversity a "top priority issue, along with fuel and labor contract issues," longtime civil rights leader Joseph Lowery said Thursday at a press conference. Lowery, retired president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, was backed by representatives of several other organizations, including the NAACP and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition.
The Rev. Joseph Lowery said he hopes Delta will agree to minority hiring goals.
A spokesman for Delta said the airline is working to increase the diversity of its work force. "Delta has a lot of respect for Rev. Lowery and shares his view that diversity is an important part of our business. We are continuing to implement programs that ensure that diversity is a top priority at Delta and are committed to maintaining this focus as we move forward with the merger," said Kent Landers, a Delta spokesman.
Thursday, the civil rights groups complained that only about 60 of Delta's 6,000 pilots are African-American, and that the company has one black vice president and four directors. Delta has about 130 officers and directors.
Lowery said the company lost ground in those areas in recent years as it cut jobs during its bankruptcy restructuring in 2005-2007. "Now that they are creating a new entity is a good time to start over," he said.
Lowery said Delta Chief Executive Richard Anderson called him Thursday to arrange a meeting on the groups' concerns, ending a month-long hiatus in such contacts, after a reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called the company regarding the planned press conference.
He said he hopes Delta will agree to minority hiring goals. If Delta doesn't, he said the groups "would use every recourse at our disposal," including possible complaints to federal agencies.
Landers said Delta officials plan to meet with Lowery.
He agreed that only about 1 percent of Delta's pilots are African-American, but said that's higher than the industry average. Landers said the number of black officers or directors at Delta has declined from a dozen in 2002 to six this year, but that the overall total of women or minority executives has remained steady, at 14.
"It has been a focus of Delta's to increase that number," he said. "We've had limited opportunities in recent years for hiring."
