Strike Center Opened As Delta Wants Senior Mgmt. Perks

Things are getting uglier in Atlanta, where it looks more likely every day that Delta pilots will soon walk out on their jobs. The pilot's union says Delta is pushing a US Bankruptcy Court to allow them to end an employee pension plan, and that contract negotiations continue to sour.

Lee Moak, chairman of the Delta branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, told Reuters this week the union has asked its parent for a $10 million contingency fund, and will soon hold a vote on striking the bankrupt carrier.

"If management succeeds in rejecting our contract, we will strike, and we will strike at a time and place of our choosing," Moak said. "It's truly an act of self-defense."

The union also opened a strike center in Atlanta Thursday, designed to function, in Moak's words, as a "hub for any self-defense operations."

For its part, Delta says the move towards strike has done nothing to change the ongoing talks between the company and its pilots union.

"That does not in any way deter our intent or efforts to reach a consensual agreement," said Delta spokeswoman Chris Kelly. "We are negotiating now, and we have a mutually agreed upon process to help facilitate reaching an agreement if we are unable to do so by the end of the month."

Moak has alleged Delta told the union it would have to terminate the pilots' already moribund pension plan, and that the carrier had asked the union not to oppose the move. Kelly maintains a decision has not been made on how to handle the pension plan.

In any case, any goodwill stemming from the mutual agreement reached on an interim contract last December seems to now be exhausted.

Not helping matters is Delta's announcement Wednesday it wants to introduce a severance package for its senior managers to keep them from jumping ship. That move comes as the carrier is asking its pilots to eliminate furlough provisions in their contract, and is holding firm to its statement Delta needs $325 million in concessions from its pilots to stay in business.

"Delta pilots continue to negotiate," Moak said. "But the management team has still not moved from their $325 million figure other than cosmetically."

"It really smacks with elitism," added Moak. "...They are more concerned with retaining management than with pilots."

FMI: www.delta.com, www.alpa.org