We Love to Fly and It Shows

In addition to record inflation, sky-high gas and energy prices, supply-chain interruptions, grocery and baby-formula shortages, and a Colorado Rockies Stanley Cup, 2022 will be remembered as the year airline pilots miraculously managed to put in record hours both in the cockpit and on the picket lines.

Following similar demonstrations by Alaska, American, Southwest, and FedEx pilots, Delta Airlines pilots—represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA)—will conduct informational picketing at Delta hubs nationwide on Thursday, 30 June to protest protracted contract negotiations.

The pilots last signed a new employment contract in 2016 and are currently flying under work rules and pay rates negotiated over six years ago. Hundreds of off-duty pilots are scheduled to attend informational pickets tomorrow at major airports in Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New York, Salt Lake City, and Seattle.

Capt. Jason Ambrosi, chair of the Delta ALPA Master Executive Council states: “Delta pilots were frontline leaders during COVID and the recovery. We have helped our airline recover by flying record amounts of overtime and spending more time away from our families than ever before to get our customers safely to their destinations. It’s time for management to recognize our contributions. If Delta can invest billions in foreign airlines and its subsidiaries, it must invest similarly in its pilots.”

Contract negotiations were paused during the COVID madness and resumed in January 2022 under the auspices of the National Mediation Board.

ALPA, in addition to seeking improvements in pay, retirement, and job protections, is demanding changes to pilot schedules. In recent letters to Delta customers and the Delta Board of Directors, ALPA pointed out preventable management missteps that could have mitigated ongoing flight disruptions.

In June, the Delta ALPA Master Executive Council took the unprecedented step of passing a vote of “no confidence” in the management teams of Delta’s Flight Operations, Crew Resources, and Flight Training & Standards departments. The vote cited scheduling issues that continue to plague both Delta customers and pilots. Over the Memorial Day weekend, Delta cancelled more flights than any other major airline.

The Delta ALPA Master Executive Council recently opened a Strike Center at its Atlanta office to begin preparing Delta pilots for demonstration scenarios as permitted under the Railway Labor Act—which prohibits pilots and other workers vital to national transportation infrastructure from striking.

“Our goal is to achieve an industry-leading contract. But if management doesn’t get serious, we’ll go the distance to get the contract we deserve,” Captain Ambrosi asserted.

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