Delta pilots authorize strike

[alicia-w]

This is really bad for us locally since Delta is practically the only carrier that goes anywhere we need to be on the govt contract.....


Delta pilots authorize strike
No deadline is set, but a walkout could mean the end of the nation's No. 2 airline.
By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
April 4, 2006: 1:48 PM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Pilots at Delta Air Lines voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike against the nation's No. 2 airline, the union announced Tuesday, though no date was set for a walkout.

The vote was 95 percent in favor, the Air Line Pilots Association said in a statement.



Delta pilots picketing near the Cincinnati Airport last month. The airline is seeking to impose up to $325 million in long-term cuts on its 6,000 pilots.

Many experts say Delta could be forced to halt operations permanently if the pilots shut down the airline for even a short time. But those same observers generally agree that a strike is unlikely at the airline, which is already in bankruptcy, even with the vote announced Tuesday.

Management and the union are locked in discussions on another round of wage concessions as an arbitration panel weighs whether the Atlanta-based airline can dump its union contract. A decision from that panel is due by April 15.

Both Delta (Research) management and the Air Line Pilots Association are taking these steps to try to gain leverage in talks on further wage concessions at the airline, which has been operating in bankruptcy since Sept. 14.

If management can impose wage and work rules, that could force the pilots to agree to pay cuts and other concessions they were unlikely to accept otherwise.

But the threat of a pilots' strike, which many believe could lead to permanent closure of the airline, could stop management from taking that step.

"We seek a consensual comprehensive agreement, but we will not be bullied into accepting the overreaching demands currently on the table," Lee Moak, head of the Delta chapter of the pilots union, said in a letter to members. "We will not capitulate to these demands based on a fear of what may lie ahead. We understand the risks. If our contract is rejected, we will strike."

Delta: No service interruption
Delta issued a statement stressing that there will be no immediate interruption in service.

"Today's outcome will not disrupt Delta service," it said. "Together with our pilots and all of our employees, we remain focused on our number-one priority -- taking good care of our customers. The traveling public can continue to book Delta with confidence."

Management's statement also repeated its earlier position that it is working to reach a negotiated agreement with the pilots.

Even if management wins the right to dump the pilot's contract, that doesn't mean it would immediately impose lower wages on the pilots. And a pilots' union spokeswoman said that even if management did impose a new pay scale, it wouldn't necessarily result in an immediate strike. The union would decide on when the best time would be for a walkout, she added.

But the stakes are high for both sides if either miscalculates.

Industry consultant Michael Boyd said Delta was unlikely to survive even a relatively short walkout that shut down the airline.

"If there's a strike for any more than 24 hours, it's gone," he said. "This is not normal bargaining."

But Boyd said he thinks there is only about a 10 percent chance that a strike will be called at Delta, and he believes that despite the strong vote Tuesday, many might cross a picket line and keep flying even if there is a strike.

"If you're a pilot, you have to vote in favor of a strike or you don't have leverage. That doesn't mean they'd really go out," Boyd said. "There aren't a lot of folks hiring pilots out there, and even if you get a job, you start at the bottom, at $15,000 or $20,000 a year."

Pilots vow unity
Moak's letter to members said pilots will be unified if a strike is called, with many members having already walked "informational picket lines" and held a practice strike.

"All too often over the past months, management has attempted to mischaracterize the defense of our contract as posturing, gamesmanship and, most recently, saber-rattling. They are wrong," said Moak's letter.

But Boyd said that if management wins the right to void the contracts, it will have the greater leverage at the bargaining table than will the union, even with the pilots having authorized a strike.

"Management would have the upper hand, because guess what who has the most to lose -- the pilots," he said. But he doubts that the management would move in the near term to impose new wages on the union, even if they win that right next week.

"I think that's a long way down the road," he said.

The pilots union, which represents about 6,000 active and 500 furloughed pilots at the bankrupt airline, agreed to about a one-third cut in their pay in October 2004, but 11 months later rising fuel prices and continued weakness in fares led the airline to file for bankruptcy court protection, the same day that competitor Northwest Airlines also filed.

Northwest has reached a tentative agreement with most of its unions on further concessions since its bankruptcy filing, although the union that represents its mechanics has been on strike since Aug. 19, with maintenance work being done by outside contractors and replacement workers.

Since Delta's bankruptcy filing, the airline's pilots have agreed to another pay cut of about 14 percent, but the union and management have yet to agree on further wage concessions.

Delta pilots reached a four-year agreement on an industry-leading pay raise in April 2001, shortly before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Pilots at Delta continued to get paid under that contract until 18 months ago, while Delta was posting huge losses.

The pilots are the only major union representing employees at Delta.

Management says that even with rising fares and demand for air travel, it needs additional labor concessions to put together a plan to emerge from bankruptcy.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/04/04/news/companies/delta_pilots/index.htm?cnn=yes

[gtalum]

This doesn't mean there will actually be a strike. It's just another move to pressure the airline to meet their demands. The time to worry is when they actually set a strike date.

That said, these pilots should start rehearsing just in case: "Do you want fries with that?"

[Janice]

I don't see anything in the future getting much better. I think all jobs in the US will be downsized and a lot outsourced. I think businesses have discovered they don't need all their employees. They don't have to pay all that extra insurance and benefits. It is a shame.

Yes, Delta is used by everyone. Just think of the problems with just a one day strike. That will affect businesses everywhere, not just the airline.

[Brent]

Well it was inevitable.

It'll be the end of Delta if it happens.

[MiamiensisWx]

Delta should have thought of the potential effects before imposing those cuts. Don't you agree?

[alicia-w]

we have a couple of delta guys who have returned to active duty here who say it's definitely a possiblity and that it definitely the end of Delta.

[gtalum]

Delta should have thought of the potential effects before imposing those cuts. Don't you agree?

If they don't impsoe the cuts, they go out of business. It's a simple prospect.

[Brent]

Delta should have thought of the potential effects before imposing those cuts. Don't you agree?

If they don't impsoe the cuts, they go out of business. It's a simple prospect.

Exactly. They are in bankruptcy and can't afford to keep losing money every quarter.

[Pburgh]

Welcome to my world!!!

[MiamiensisWx]

How do you enclose two quotes like above?

[gtalum]

How do you enclose two quotes like above?

If you use the "Quote" reply button on a post that contains a quote, you get the quote within a quote.

[fwbbreeze]

This is all part of the bankruptcy process. Both sides have stated demands and positions and believe me something will be worked out before the deadline. I have very little remorse for the pilots or the executives...its the ramp worker or luggage handler working their butts off to support their family that I really feel sorry for. They are stuck in the middle of a pi$$ing contest between management and the pilots union that could cost the company its life!!

fwbbreeze

[alicia-w]

pilots need to make a living too. they dont have families to support? i'll feel a little more compassion for the luggage handler when I actually get my bags on time for once....

[fwbbreeze]

pilots need to make a living too. they dont have families to support? i'll feel a little more compassion for the luggage handler when I actually get my bags on time for once....

you know what the ramp worker/luggage handler has no influence in this dispute, which means their jobs are in the hands of everyone but themselves. Union greed along with airline management ignorance has lead to this impasse. Let them strike and see how long they will go with NO PAY!!

fwbbreeze

[alicia-w]

do you know those guys have taken a pay CUT? they took a 32.5% pay cut in 2004 (while the rest of the employees' pay was reduced by 10%) and another 14% cut in December of 2005. . how many of us can maintain a lifestyle and pay bills when our income is reduced by that amount?

and now delta wants them to take ANOTHER cut? no WONDER they opted to authorize a strike. what kind of airline to they expect to be with NO PILOTS? or pilots that will work for peanuts? Oops, wait, they quit giving those out too.

[gtalum]

do you know those guys have taken a pay CUT? they took a 32.5% pay cut in 2004 (while the rest of the employees' pay was reduced by 10%) and another 14% cut in December of 2005. . how many of us can maintain a lifestyle and pay bills when our income is reduced by that amount?

While technically true, the 32.5% pay cut reversed a pay raise they had just received a few months earlier. Delta is trying to increase the 14% cut of 12/05 (which hasn't taken effect yet) to 19%.

and now delta wants them to take ANOTHER cut? no WONDER they opted to authorize a strike. what kind of airline to they expect to be with NO PILOTS? or pilots that will work for peanuts? Oops, wait, they quit giving those out too.

If Delta doesn't get the cuts, they will go out of business. It's as simple as that. Even if they do get the cuts, they may go out of business. They simply cannot afford to have piltos compensated well above everyone else in the industry. They can't survive that way.

There is overcapacity in the business, too. If these guys strike and kill Delta, the vast majority will not find another pilot job.

[alicia-w]

maybe it's because we have several Delta pilots in the office, and we hear their side of the story more often, but it certainly makes sense to me. I think the US economy has lived with so much excess for so long, it's starting to collapse....

[fwbbreeze]

DL pilots are the highest paid among competitors like AA, UA and NW. The additional 30% pay cut that management is asking for will bring them in line with competitors. But what does it matter, if they strike the airline is doomed. Some type of compromise will be reached. The days of the large airline are over. Years of having grossly overpaid pilots, management, and ridiculous pensions have killed the bigger carriers. Remember DL is in BANKRUPTCY in large part to the afore mentioned factors. Either they accept a pay cut(which will happen) or they don't get paid at all. The pilots are not stupid and they understand there are not greener pastures at other carriers. Carriers like AirTran and Southwest will be the wave of the future as their business model is sound and they seem to be the only ones that can turn a profit.

fwbbreeze

[alicia-w]

you finally said something i agree with.....

[gtalum]

The economy is not collapsing. In fact it's on fire right now. It is, however, becoming more efficient, and that spells bad things for people who are overcompensated for what they do, like Delta pilots (and pilots at the other "legacy" carriers) for instance.