Yet ANOTHER F & H in the mix (one of hundreds, likely)
(article likely fed from F & H solutions guy mentioned in in...more using the press to alter public perception. Nice teamwork!)
www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed_airlinesapr16,0,1568445.story
chicagotribune.com
Pay dividing pilots at Delta, Northwest
By Julie Johnsson
Tribune Reporter
April 16, 2008
Pilots of Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. face very different financial prospects as the two carriers merge to form the world's largest airline, a disparity that could fuel labor battles between the two groups.
Delta pilots, who support the deal announced Monday, stand to gain a 17 percent increase in pay over the next four years, a 3.5 percent equity stake in the merged carrier, a higher contribution to their 401(k)-like pension plan and a guarantee none in their ranks will be furloughed for two years after the deal closes.
The gains, which result from a new contract hammered out by Delta's pilots and management over the weekend, were spelled out in a letter Monday from Lee Moak, the head of Delta's pilots union, to his members.
They are expected to form a template for concessions to be sought by pilots at United Airlines and Continental Airlines as their companies explore a tie-up, analysts said.
Northwest pilots aren't guaranteed a share of the largesse, however. That is punishment, union leaders claim in a letter Monday to rank-and-file members, for their unwillingness to support the deal or agree to terms that Northwest pilots felt would have given their Delta counterparts preferential treatment.
"No pilot group is going to put up with this," wrote Dave Stevens, head of the Northwest pilots union.
The two pilot groups likely are headed for arbitration to resolve differences over seniority, the pecking order that determines the planes pilots fly, their pay and their work conditions, said
Jerry Glass, president of F&H Solutions Group, a human resources and management consulting firm based in Washington, D.C.
That's something the unions had sought to avoid, after arbitration led to a bitter split among pilots at US Airways, which still is struggling to integrate work groups more than two years after it merged with America West.
United and Continental pilots unions, meanwhile, on Tuesday demanded a say in any merger talks between the companies. One analyst predicted a smoother integration process for United and Continental since their pilots groups match up comparatively well. Most pilots at Chicago-based United are in the middle of their careers, while their Continental peers tend to be clustered at the beginning or end of their careers.
"Look at how long the Delta-Northwest pilots threw rocks at each other on the seniority issue," said Julius Maldutis, a New York-based airline analyst. "This could be quite different."
Investors panned Delta's long-in-the-works deal with Northwest, sending shares of both companies down sharply on Tuesday on disappointment that the deal may not yield as much in cost savings or higher revenue as Wall Street expected.
If Delta and Northwest are going to complete their combination, they also will have politicians to placate and antitrust regulators to convince. Delta and Northwest executives said they are aiming to close their deal by the end of this year, which would be before the end of the merger-friendly Bush administration.
Shares of both companies fell Tuesday, reducing the deal's value of Northwest to $3.3 billion. Northwest lost 94 cents, or 8.4 percent, to $10.28; Delta slipped $1.32, or 12.6 percent, to $9.16.
Meanwhile, Glenn Tilton, chairman and chief executive of United Airlines parent UAL Corp., said the carrier will participate in the industry's merger activity "when and if it is the right choice."
Tilton made the comments in a message to workers Tuesday in response to the Delta-Northwest tie-up, which is seen by many observers as setting the stage for a possible United-Continental combination. Tilton noted that he has "long advocated that the U.S. airline industry would benefit from consolidation."
Consolidation will help domestic airlines compete against the growing number of foreign carriers serving the U.S., Tilton said. The one-two punch of soaring fuel costs and a weakening economy are accelerating the need for a different approach, he maintained.
Tribune reporter James P. Miller and Tribune wires contributed to this report.
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