Delta and Pilots File for Mediation to Resolve Contract Dispute
Joe Cortez March 31, 2016
Pilots seek increase in wages and benefits as airline collects record profits.
Delta Air Lines and the Air Lines Pilots Association (ALPA) are seeking assistance in their contract negotiations, requesting a federal mediator meet with both parties. Pursuant to a working agreement, the airline and union have announced their joint filing for mediation, as no agreement has been reached by the March 31, 2016 deadline.
According to reports by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, negotiations stalled after the airline rejected a proposal which would increase pilot wages by 40 percent over three years. ALPA claims as airline profits have raised over the past several years, salaries for those in command of aircraft have not increased accordingly. The pilots allege that competing legacy carriers pay pilots more and Delta’s compensation package has not yet resumed to pre-bankruptcy levels.
“The market for pilots is rising, and delay will only cost Delta more,” captain John Malone, chairman of the Delta Master Executive Council, wrote in a letter to pilots on March 20. “As we are saying to the investment community, ‘We are investment grade,’ and have earned an investment grade contract.”
Conversely, the airline claims they want to work with pilots to negotiate a contract. In July 2015, a reported 65 percent of pilots rejected a contract, marking the first time in airline history pilots have turned away a contract.
“[Delta] remains committed to reaching an industry-leading agreement that reflects the Delta pilots’ significant contributions to our continued success,” Steve Dickinson, senior vice president of flight operations at Delta, wrote to the pilots in a letter obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “To be successful and maintain our momentum over the long term, we must take a balanced approach that is sustainable in both good times and bad.”
The mediation comes as airline employees are demanding increased pay which reflect their airline’s bottom line. In February, United Airlines mechanics turned away a contract offer, followed by a strike vote. One month later, American Airlines’ pilots sent a letter to their leadership, accusing the airline of unspecific “contractual [and] legal abuses.”
[Photo: Delta Air Lines]
And so the cycle of boom to bust looks set to continue. 40% over 3 years is a massive demand that will also antagonise the remainder of the workforce into similar demands; demands that Delta won't be able to sustain for long.