Wow, 15 pages and still going...
It seems to me that the problem with SLI is that even though the two companies have merged to form one company, you still have the employee groups thinking of things as two companies, thus the contentious nature of of the discussions.
The smartest thing to do would be to change the name of the company to something not even remotely resembling either Northwest or Delta, and to get rid of everything that reminds people that the company was once Delta, Northwest, Republic, Western, Hughes Airwest, North Central, National, Pan Am, and God only knows who else.
Get everyone on board with the idea that this is a NEW company, and that everyone is on equal footing, and maybe this merger could work.
It seems pretty simple to me. EVERYONE gets ordered by the day they were hired at their respective company(s), and everyone maintains their equipment, seat, and domicile. If you were 757 captain before based in New York before the merger, you're a 757 Captain based in New York after the merger. No one loses any pay or has to make any major life changes as a result of the integration.
Some will argue that this approach doesnt respect the "career expectations" of the NWA or DAL pilots. Perhaps it doesn't, but I would argue that anyone who has any expectation beyond being paid for the work they have already performed is foolish. There are no guarantees in life or in airline careers. Roll the dice and take your chances.
