Investors engage Delta Air Lines on human trafficking

Praxis Mutual Funds joined other investor members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility for a dialogue with Delta Air Lines on the company’s continued efforts to promote human rights and combat human trafficking. Conversation also touched on Delta’s response to COVID-19 and its strategy to address racial equity.

Human trafficking, also known as modern slavery, describes the coercion and displacement of millions of people worldwide – nearly 40 million, according to a report from the International Labour Organization. It includes people forced into involuntary servitude, debt bondage, commercial sex acts, or marriage. Human trafficking victims are often transported far from their homes or countries of origin, and sometimes travel on airlines.

In 2020, Delta issued a comprehensive Anti-Slavery and Anti-Human Trafficking Statement that outlined its commitment to addressing human trafficking and provided news on its recent activities.

The investor group centered the dialogue on this document and built on previous engagements with the company.

Some key points on Delta’s anti-trafficking efforts:

• Delta has established a cross-divisional human trafficking advisory council, comprised of senior leaders from Airport Customer Service, Corporate Communications, Flight Operations, Global Distribution, Human Resources, In-Flight Services, Legal, Marketing, and Technical Operations; the advisory council reviews opportunities to leverage resources to play a large role in the fight against trafficking around the globe.
• Over 80,000 Delta employees have taken Delta’s human trafficking training, enabling them to remain alert to possible trafficking situations in airports, flights, and where they live and travel; the training is required for flight attendants and pilots.
• Delta has installed signs in airports across the United States to raise awareness of human trafficking; the signs help teach the public indicators of trafficking and highlight the National Human Trafficking Hotline number.
• Delta supports anti-trafficking legislation and lobbies for anti-trafficking bills that protect survivors locally and nationally.

Delta has been a leading force in addressing human trafficking within the airline industry. Praxis holds Delta Air Lines in the Praxis Value Index Fund and has participated in many engagements with Delta over the past decade.