Add to that bad news....DAL taking another cut!

[Kristie]

here we go...not that i'm happy about it, not one bit...and apparently neither is anyone on DALPA....but, thanks to our union and the 14% that DIDN'T BOTHER to put the ballot back in the box...we lose another 15% (14% + additives that add another 1% in there) in total income...

if i knew who the 14% were that didn't bother to have the balls to vote - there'd be a "blackball" DAL list going around! luckily for them, they get to stay anonymous....but man, i'm pissed!

--
Delta pilots accept pay cut
Divisive issues yet to be resolved

By DAVE HIRSCHMAN and KIRSTEN TAGAMI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/29/05
Pilots bought cash-strapped Delta Air Lines some financial breathing room Wednesday by ratifying a second round of wage cuts — but a deadline for a more comprehensive and potentially divisive labor deal still looms.

Rank-and-file pilots approved the union-backed measure by a vote of 58 percent to 42 percent. It immediately slashes pilot pay 14 percent and saves Delta $143 million a year.

The latest concession is part of $3 billion in annual savings Delta is seeking to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It comes on top of a 32.5 percent pilot wage drop last year.

"Given the critical nature of our financial situation, this provides much needed financial relief," said Delta Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein. "We greatly appreciate the additional sacrifices Delta employees — including our pilots — are making to help save the company."

A total of 5,166 pilots cast ballots in the ratification vote with 3,001 approving the pay cut and 2,165 rejecting it.

"This is the closest vote I can remember," said John Culp, a Delta pilot and spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association. "It was an uncharacteristically high turnout reflecting concern about the issue and the bankruptcy process."

Delta pilots, once highest paid in the industry, now trail cargo carriers FedEx and UPS, and midcareer Delta 737 captains are likely to earn less than pilots flying similar planes at cross-concourse rival AirTran, according to AIR Inc., a pilot consulting service that closely tracks pay rates. Average pay among Delta's 6,000 pilots now falls to $146,000 from $170,000.

Delta pilots clung to their industry-leading pay for three years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks plunged passenger airlines into a grave economic crisis. They agreed to slash their pay by $1 billion a year and gave up nearly one-third of their pay last year in a fruitless effort to keep Delta out of bankruptcy court.

Surging fuel prices, increasing cut-rate competition and dwindling cash reserves convinced Delta to seek to reorganize under Chapter 11 in September.

The pay cuts that pilots ratified Wednesday don't solve all the thorny issues facing Delta pilots and managers, however. The two sides will go back to the negotiating table almost immediately to hammer out a comprehensive deal covering wages, work rules, pensions and the size and number of jets that Delta affiliates will fly. Delta wants Comair and ASA, which have lower pay scales, to fly larger aircraft. Delta pilots fear such a move would lead to furloughs and slow their career advancement.

If the two sides can't reach an agreement on those contentious issues by March 1, Delta pilots and managers would take their dispute to a three-member arbitration panel. The panel would decide whether to approve Delta's request to throw out the pilot contract and impose terms. Pilots have bluntly told managers they will refuse to work without a contract and threatened a strike that could kill the venerable carrier. Delta has said such a strike would be illegal.

Air Line Pilots Association Chairman Lee Moak reiterated the union's position in a letter to fellow pilots Wednesday. "We will not work willingly without a contract," he said. "We hold to the premise that, in the event our contract is rejected, we have a right to [strike]. We will lawfully and vigorously oppose any attempt to interfere with that right."

Kit Darby, AIR Inc. president and a United Airlines captain, said pilots strongly preferred to control their own destiny.

"No one is happy to take a pay cut," Darby said. "But pilots know that when they negotiate their own deals, the outcomes are usually more balanced than when they let a bankruptcy court judge decide for them. They have to ask themselves whether they want to live to fight another day, or take a ride on the wheel of fortune."

Robert Ashmore, an Atlanta lawyer who has worked for airline clients involved in bankruptcies and high-stakes labor talks, also expects the two sides to avoid a potentially disastrous confrontation.

"Delta pilots don't really want to strike because they have the most to lose," Ashmore said. "They tend to make careful, balanced decisions in matters like this where their careers are at stake. They don't want to put the final nail in Delta's coffin."

Richard Henry, a 767 pilot who has worked for Delta for 18 years, said the outcome of the vote was predictable given the support of Air Line Pilots Association leadership.

However, there is no cause for celebration. He said the main thing the vote accomplishes is to buy time to look for another job.

"I don't know a pilot who isn't looking, and not necessarily for another pilot job," he said.

[Kristie]

here's another from CNN.. a more reputable source in my book...haha

--
Delta, pilots reach interim deal
Airline would save about $143M from 14 percent cut in pilots' wages; comprehensive deal due March 1.
December 28, 2005: 6:30 PM EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The pilots' union of bankrupt Delta Air Lines Inc. on Wednesday ratified an interim agreement with the carrier, paving the way for negotiations to continue toward a final deal in March, the airline said.

The interim deal, reached earlier this month between the No. 3 U.S. airline and the Air Line Pilots Association, provides for a 14 percent hourly wage reduction as well as cuts in other pay and cost items equivalent to another 1 percent, Delta said in a statement.

Atlanta-based Delta, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, has been seeking $3 billion in revenue increases and cost savings, including about $325 million in givebacks from its pilots.

The union said in a statement that more than half the pilots voted to ratify the deal but as many as 42 percent voted against it. About 86 percent of its approximately 6,500 members voted, it said.

The vote "reflected the pilot group's anger over the concession request," it said. "Concerns were also expressed over management's failure to outline a plan that demonstrated how further sacrifices would insure Delta's financial future."

Gerald Grinstein, Delta's chief executive, said in a statement, "We greatly appreciate the additional sacrifices Delta employees - including our pilots - are making to help save the company."

The concessions, effective from Dec. 15, will save the airline about $143 million a year until a comprehensive deal is reached, it said.

The two sides are scheduled to negotiate a comprehensive agreement by March 1, with pilot membership ratification due by March 22.

The interim deal also provides for setting up a third-party panel to facilitate a resolution should the pilots and the airline fail to reach a deal by the deadline.

[Bigsweetie]

Oh Kristie...

I'm so sorry! If anyone here can relate I think it's me. I know the dissappointment. It feels like a slap in the face (or kick in the gut is more like it). For me it kind of felt like we'd been robbed, then the burglars came back for more.

Is Doug looking for a new job? If he wants out I hope he finds something soon.

I can't believe that 14% didn't care one way or another! That's sad.

Quote: {Gerald Grinstein, Delta's chief executive, said in a statement, "We greatly appreciate the additional sacrifices Delta employees - including our pilots - are making to help save the company."}

Doesn't that statement just make you want to punch him in the face? Or worse? I feel like saying to the guy "Pay your own country club dues a$$hole!"

Let me guess, he'll get a great big bonus for doing such a "bang up" job!!

Sorry, i'm getting pissed...

I don't even know what to say anymore. This is becoming par for the course in this industry and it's sad.

Well maybe this will lead to Doug working for a different airline and end up being a positive thing like it was for us. Shuttle's shenanigans gave DH the push he needed to find a better job and he did. I hope the same works out for you and Doug!!!

[Kristie]

Thanks Tanya... I know Eric was able to get a new job and not have a care about his seniority or what not.. but with 8/9 years of seniority completed - the only way we'd probably take a hit and get out, start all over again, is if he went into a different field altogether.. which we are looking at...

if the industry was in better shape, then we'd probably have him look at cargo - but we jsut don't trust any of the companies out there anymore!! seems like they all want us to work for peanuts and "like" it...

but for now, we'll take the kick in the ass and work our union reps hard to make sure they understand we're not going to take anymore.. especially if we hear that ANYbody at DAL gets a bonus this year or the next 5 years!! I have a feeling if anyone heard that, you'd see rampers, CSR, mechanics, F/A's and pilots all walking out!!

I just don't know yet how people deal with this stuff... I mean, doug was/is making a good wage, hopefully enough that if we budget properly for hte next year, we won't have to move... hell, after taxes, dues, health costs etc, he's making just a bit more than me (and i'm home everynight!!)...but if your a CSR or F/A and making crap - how the hell do you take a hit like that?! I think about me and how we're going to have to adjust our budget tremendously...but for some reason, it just gets me thinking back to when we all started - how the hell did we get thru it back then when we were literally poor!? probably makes no sense - irrational thinking and all....haha

for the DAL ladies on the board, what tactics are you gonna use to re-budget?

I guess i'll have to take a look at that thread again about budgeting and teach myself how to re-budget...it's just weird, i always thought we'd be going up in the world, not going back...it just feels too much like we're really moving backwards in time!

I'm so tired... so tired of taking it in the ass and continually trying to be upbeat around doug.. it just doesn't help me at all...but if i show him how down i am about it, it just makes him feel so much worse, like he can't even support his family or something...back again, to the days when i was his suga momma!

[Bigsweetie]

Kristie,
I didn't realize Doug had been at DAL that long. That really does put him in a pickle then. I'm sure you guys will find a way to budget around it though. I know someone on this board said that they had to sell their house at one point because of stuff like this. It really is sad.

But I think what i've learned in all this is to save, save, save. This industry is so volitile that you have to save for the down times. It's going to be hard cause with DH's new salary, part of me would LOVE to splurge a little... get the new furniture i've always wanted or get my haircut at a nice salon, or buy new bras . But I have to keep telling myself that you never know what could happen tomorrow. There's no real job security anymore and we have to prepare for it.

You're at a different point in your life. You've had your hard times financially and have now been able to get used to a better lifestyle than Eric and I have. It must be really hard emotionally to see yourself sliding back down there when you and Doug worked to hard to have a better life. But I have to believe that it will get better in this industry. It will probably get worse before it gets better, but everything is cyclical. I think things will improve at some point. It's just hard not knowing when.

Just keep telling Doug "hey, Eric eats Ramen 5 days/week out of his suitcase, warming it up with a coffee pot " That should help some.

And as far as showing your feelings to Doug, I can see where you're coming from. It was hard to be supportive through all the Shuttle crap. Especially when it looked like i'd have to leave Em and go to work. Part of me wanted to say "sure Honey, don't worry. I'll pick up a job and we'll be alright", then in my own head i'm sobbing thinking "how can I do this to Emily? She needs/loves me. I can't leave her!". Luckily I don't have to now but it was a real battle for me emotionally trying to do what was best for both of them.

Well, we're here for you if you need to vent. Tell Doug he can't read this thread so that you feel comfortable really getting your feelings out. I know it really helped me alot. I posted alot of comments that I wouldn't have said to Eric cause it just would've made him feel worse.

Keep your chin up!!

[Kristie]

oh, he doesn't read the site anyways - he's too busy on jetcareers... haha

but yeah, it's all cyclical.. what makes it harder than it used to be is that we don't know when the bottom is going to hit.. or if we've already hit bottom in this industry.. it would be nice to see something shoot upwards to give us some momentum though!!

day by day...that's what i'm gonna work with again!