Thu, May 01, 2008
But New Deal Would Not Cover Northwest's 5,000 Pilots
Some 7,400 pilots at Atlanta-based
Delta Air Lines started voting Thursday on a new contract that
would give them pay raises, and an equity stake in a merged
Delta/Northwest Airlines megacarrier... but the deal leaves pilots
at Northwest out in the cold.
As ANN reported, pilots at
Delta agreed to the tentative contract April 11, clearing the way
for Delta to proceed with its merger plans. Earlier merger talks
fell apart after pilots at Delta and Northwest -- each represented
by a separate branch of the Air Line Pilots Association -- failed
to reach terms in February on a deal to combine seniority lists if
the merger were to proceed.
Both sides had wanted at least tentative agreement on such terms
ahead of a merger announcement, but they failed to reach it. With
Delta pilots onboard, the two sides announced plans to merge April
14.
Under the contract now being voted on by Delta pilots, the
carrier's existing collective bargaining agreement would be
extended through 2012. In exchange for a 3.5 percent pay raise and
other benefits -- including retaining unique operational status,
separate from Northwest -- Delta management would have greater
authority over the merged airline, including control over
Northwest's stake in Midwest Airlines.
What's missing from the deal is any reference to how pilots at
Northwest would be integrated into the merged airline, if
regulators sign off on the proposal. And that's not going to sit
well with Northwest's 5,000 pilots... who will need to negotiate
their own deal with management.
Voting at Delta runs through May 14.
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