By LIZ FEDOR, Star Tribune
February 20, 2008
Northwest Airlines pilots risk losing pay raises of more than 30 percent included in a tentative labor agreement, because Northwest and Delta Air Lines pilot negotiators are at a virtual standstill over integrating their seniority lists, a person close to the negotiations told the Star Tribune.
The standoff between the pilot groups is blocking the announcement of a Northwest-Delta merger.
"Now the deal is at risk," the news source with knowledge of the talks said. "It is at risk by a handful, just a couple of renegade Northwest Airlines pilots who are insisting on stapling thousands of Delta pilots at the bottom of the seniority list.
"The tragedy of this is that two or three of these cowboys are going to deny 12,000 pilots and their families and tens of thousands of other Northwest employees and Delta employees the choice to improve their economic future," the source added.
The seniority list determines which airplane a pilot flies and how much a pilot earns.
"There is no [merger] deal without a merged seniority list ahead of time," the source said.
Matt Coons, a spokesman for the Northwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, characterized the statements of the unnamed news source as false.
"It is interesting that this person who is supposedly so close to the negotiations is making statements that are absolutely not true. This is a pressure tactic to try to get Northwest pilots to accept a seniority list that could adversely affect their entire careers," Coons said.
The news source said that the Delta and Northwest pilots worked together constructively in recent weeks to negotiate a merged labor contract, which provides the 30 percent-plus pay raises for Northwest pilots over the four-year life of the contract. Compared to the existing contracts, there is an additional $2 billion in compensation in the proposed deal for the Northwest and Delta pilots, the news source said.
Delta pilots are now paid more, so their raises under the new labor agreement would be smaller.
One set of Northwest negotiators reached agreement on a labor deal that covers pay rates, benefits and work rules.
A second group of Northwest pilots has negotiated with Delta pilots on the seniority integration issue.
"They are the sole obstacle to a fair solution on the seniority integration," the person familiar with the talks said.
The Northwest ALPA executive council is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday to discuss the merger. Some members of that council are prepared to vote against the tentative labor agreement if the seniority integration issue remains unresolved.
"We want any seniority list integration to be fair to pilots at the top, middle and the bottom of the seniority list," Coons said this morning. "Most of our economic and contractual issues have been favorably resolved and we are very enthusiastic about the growth that a consolidation could inspire."
The boards of Delta and Northwest are scheduled to meet today, but the carriers are not expected to announce a merger for now while the seniority issue remains up in the air.
Disputes over the seniority issue plagued the Northwest and Republic Airlines merger more than 20 years ago and have hurt the US Airways and America West merger that took effect in 2005.
"A pilot's career is tied completely to his or her seniority ranking and a short-term economic benefit is not worth sacrificing the possibility of advancement over an entire career," Coons said.
Delta pilots also are represented by ALPA. Delta's pilot group is larger, with about 7,000 pilots. The Northwest group is roughly 5,000 pilots.
About 3,000 Delta pilots would go to the bottom third of the merged seniority list if the Northwest delegation has its way, the unnamed news source said.
Delta CEO Richard Anderson, who would be the top executive of the merged carrier, is well acquainted with the dynamics of pilot labor negotiations. Since he also served as CEO of Northwest from 2001 to 2004, he's been exposed to the personalities and dynamics of both ALPA chapters.
It's unclear how long Anderson, Northwest CEO Doug Steenland and their boards will wait for ALPA leaders to resolve their conflicts or what management might do to try to break the logjam.
February 20, 2008
Northwest Airlines pilots risk losing pay raises of more than 30 percent included in a tentative labor agreement, because Northwest and Delta Air Lines pilot negotiators are at a virtual standstill over integrating their seniority lists, a person close to the negotiations told the Star Tribune.
The standoff between the pilot groups is blocking the announcement of a Northwest-Delta merger.
"Now the deal is at risk," the news source with knowledge of the talks said. "It is at risk by a handful, just a couple of renegade Northwest Airlines pilots who are insisting on stapling thousands of Delta pilots at the bottom of the seniority list.
"The tragedy of this is that two or three of these cowboys are going to deny 12,000 pilots and their families and tens of thousands of other Northwest employees and Delta employees the choice to improve their economic future," the source added.
The seniority list determines which airplane a pilot flies and how much a pilot earns.
"There is no [merger] deal without a merged seniority list ahead of time," the source said.
Matt Coons, a spokesman for the Northwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, characterized the statements of the unnamed news source as false.
"It is interesting that this person who is supposedly so close to the negotiations is making statements that are absolutely not true. This is a pressure tactic to try to get Northwest pilots to accept a seniority list that could adversely affect their entire careers," Coons said.
The news source said that the Delta and Northwest pilots worked together constructively in recent weeks to negotiate a merged labor contract, which provides the 30 percent-plus pay raises for Northwest pilots over the four-year life of the contract. Compared to the existing contracts, there is an additional $2 billion in compensation in the proposed deal for the Northwest and Delta pilots, the news source said.
Delta pilots are now paid more, so their raises under the new labor agreement would be smaller.
One set of Northwest negotiators reached agreement on a labor deal that covers pay rates, benefits and work rules.
A second group of Northwest pilots has negotiated with Delta pilots on the seniority integration issue.
"They are the sole obstacle to a fair solution on the seniority integration," the person familiar with the talks said.
The Northwest ALPA executive council is scheduled to meet Thursday and Friday to discuss the merger. Some members of that council are prepared to vote against the tentative labor agreement if the seniority integration issue remains unresolved.
"We want any seniority list integration to be fair to pilots at the top, middle and the bottom of the seniority list," Coons said this morning. "Most of our economic and contractual issues have been favorably resolved and we are very enthusiastic about the growth that a consolidation could inspire."
The boards of Delta and Northwest are scheduled to meet today, but the carriers are not expected to announce a merger for now while the seniority issue remains up in the air.
Disputes over the seniority issue plagued the Northwest and Republic Airlines merger more than 20 years ago and have hurt the US Airways and America West merger that took effect in 2005.
"A pilot's career is tied completely to his or her seniority ranking and a short-term economic benefit is not worth sacrificing the possibility of advancement over an entire career," Coons said.
Delta pilots also are represented by ALPA. Delta's pilot group is larger, with about 7,000 pilots. The Northwest group is roughly 5,000 pilots.
About 3,000 Delta pilots would go to the bottom third of the merged seniority list if the Northwest delegation has its way, the unnamed news source said.
Delta CEO Richard Anderson, who would be the top executive of the merged carrier, is well acquainted with the dynamics of pilot labor negotiations. Since he also served as CEO of Northwest from 2001 to 2004, he's been exposed to the personalities and dynamics of both ALPA chapters.
It's unclear how long Anderson, Northwest CEO Doug Steenland and their boards will wait for ALPA leaders to resolve their conflicts or what management might do to try to break the logjam.
