Interesting that it was a close vote. I'd think that might weaken DL's postion somewhat if further negotiations put us back in the positon of facing a strike threat.

The linked article doesn't mention it, but the USAToday article said that if the two sides aren't able to reach a long-term agreement, they're required to go to binding arbitration. If this is the case, it would seem to give the pilots the assurance that the contract will not be arbitrarily voided, and importantly, to give DL the assurance that there will be no strike.