JetBlue Ground Workers Reject Machinists’ Effort To Unionize

The International Association of Machinists has lost its bid to represent ramp workers at JetBlue.

A JetBlue note to crew members said that 2,624 workers were eligible to vote and 1,410 voted. Of those, 920 or 65% voted against representation, while 468 or 33 % voted for representation and 22 wrote in other options.

“We are grateful that our crewmembers have voted to maintain our direct relationship,” JetBlue said Wednesday, in a prepared statement. “Our crew members have built a strong culture that stands out in the airline industry.

“While we know we have much work to do to continuously improve JetBlue for our crew members, we’re pleased that we’ll be able to work directly with them to make meaningful change,” the carrier said.

An IAM spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

IAM has sought for years to organize JetBlue ramp workers. It announced in September 2022 that it had enough signatures to call for an election.

JetBlue pilots are represented by the Air Lines Pilots Association, while flight attendants are represented by the Transport Workers Union.