gator_hater said:
one other thing... Wasn't the last concession with the Delta Pilots that they would continue negotiating and if there were not a resoultion by March that they agreed to binding arbitration, in turn Delta agreed to stop the 1113?? Can they legally strike?
YES. The USAToday said Binding arbitration, but they were wrong again. If we cannot come to an agreement, the three man board can only vote up or down on the 1113, but we can still strike. And, Prudence Beatty--our previous BK judge, ripped into the DL CFO on the stand when he said the Railway Labor Act wouldn't allow us to strike. She said "The Federal Courts cannot stop a strike, and what does the Railway Labor act have to do with this?" He didn't answer her. Maybe Bush could stop a strike, but only for a limited time. A lot of people will lose out with a strike, and this posturing we are doing is to get Delta to the table. We have to put it out in the media. Otherwise, they will do nothing and hope the 1113 succeeds. IF it does, we can and will strike. You have to put that out there to get them to negotiate. Bad publicity also hurts future bookings, and a liquidation would not allow management to reap the benefits like UAL did with their stock offering to their 400 top managers---8% of the new stock. Our management probably wants the same. We do have some things that we will not budge on, and they will have to consider that.
Bye Bye--General Lee
Cincinnati Post
Delta pilots: Threat of strike is real
By Bob Driehaus
Post staff reporter
Delta Air Lines pilots have a clear but lengthy path to go on strike and shut down the airline should negotiations that are already going badly hit a dead end.
The union declared Thursday that its pilots would go on strike if Delta successfully petitioned the bankruptcy court to void the pilots' contract and unilaterally impose salary and benefit cuts.
Darryl Jenkins, a veteran aviation industry expert and independent consultant, believes from private conversations with numerous pilots and analysis of Delta's management plans that the threat to strike is not hollow.
"I think this is more than saber-rattling. It would not surprise me if this went all the way. I have never seen a more angry group of pilots than I've seen at Delta right now. They're at the point where they feel that if they worked for free, Delta still wouldn't be able to turn this thing around," Jenkins said.
Negotiations are continuing in the hope of avoiding a strike. Delta sent a memo to senior managers Friday that said the company has lowered its demands in the hope of reaching an agreement.
"Our proposal, in fact, reduces the amount of the $325 million in annual concessions we are seeking from the pilots to $315 million annually, the equivalent of about 1 percent of pay. That change requires Delta to accept greater risk in our restructuring plan, but we feel such a move is worthwhile to demonstrate our preference to achieve a consensual agreement," the memo said.
"Additionally, while there is yet no determination on what will happen with the pilot pension plan, the proposal also includes a proposal for a $300 million long-term, interest bearing note, which would be provided by the Company if, in fact, the pilot defined benefit pension plan were to be terminated in the future."
Delta and its pilots are headed into uncharted waters if they pursue this course, aviation and labor law experts say. While other bankrupt airlines have reached the brink of tearing up labor contracts, last-minute accords have been reached in each case. In turn, no union has ever followed through on threats to strike under such conditions.
But Air Line Pilots Association Chairman Lee Moak said his fellow pilots are unafraid of taking the leap and striking because they question whether they would want to work for a company that would strip away pay and benefits at the level Delta is demanding.
Philip Way, a University of Cincinnati economics professor, said the Railway Labor Act that governs labor relations for airlines ensures that the process for striking is lengthy.
"If there is no agreement, either party can ask to assign a mediator. If the National Mediation Board isn't successful, it declares an impasse, and it offers binding arbitration. The problem is that both parties are supposed accept the offer," Way said.
If the pilots reject binding arbitration, there is a 30-day cooling-off period. If there is still no agreement reached, then the pilots are free to strike, he said, unless President Bush takes the extraordinary step of creating a Presidential Emergency Board.
That board could delay a legal strike for another 30 days, at which time the pilots could walk.
"The good news for the consumer is the procedures are long, and a win-win solution can be worked out in the interim," Way said.
Richard Bales, law professor and interim dean of Northern Kentucky University's Chase College of Law, said Delta is likely to ask the bankruptcy judge to bar the pilots from striking.
"The judge might impose the kind of penalty that broke the New York subway strike a few months back - impose a hefty per-day fine both on ALPA and on individual strikers. (But) it is unclear whether the bankruptcy judge would have the legal authority to enjoin an ALPA strike," Bales said.
He said the union is likely to counter that argument by arguing that an injunction would be prohibited by the Norris-LaGuardia Act, a 1932 law that broadly prohibits federal courts from enjoining strikes.
Lynn LoPucki, a University of California-Los Angeles law professor and bankruptcy expert, said it's an open question whether a bankruptcy judge could legally stop the strike but that it would be in keeping with recent labor battles for Delta to seek that path.
Kelly Collins, a spokeswoman for the pilots' union, said Friday that union lawyers have concluded that the union is well within its rights to strike.
Bruce Hicks, a spokesman for Delta, declined to discuss what strategy the airline would employ if the pilots pursued a strike.
"We believe the best prevention is reaching a consensual agreement, and that's where all of our energies are focused. We're committed to finding a consensual agreement. There is an agreed-upon process in place, and we're going to continue pursuing it," he said.
Jenkins, the aviation industry expert, is pessimistic about the negotiations and disenchanted with Delta's management strategy.
"I have lost all respect for Delta. There was a time when Delta only cared about making money. Now the only thing they're worried about is doing damage to a low-cost competitor. Their strategy on this is just to lose massive amounts of money.
"For years, I (defended) Delta on real awful issues. Today, I just can't see anything at all I want to defend them on," he said.
