I agree with your points about the DAL pilots needing a big pay raise. FWIW, a quick google search of these keywords "Southwest Pilots contract 2001" returned this old headline. It doesn't precisely answer your question but I think it does show SWAPA was using ALPA negotiated rates as justification for their pay demands:
July 04, 2002|By NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE
Disagreement over pay remains unresolved. The union, the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association, argued that pilots at Delta Air Lines, for example, earned about $244 an hour flying Boeing 737 jets, which make up Southwest's entire fleet. A Southwest pilot, the union said, earns about $140 an hour.
Pay parity was the key platform plank for the current group of union leaders, who were elected in 2000 on a pledge to win significant raises. With elections again scheduled in September, the pilots' union sought to resume contract talks this spring, but in a much different competitive atmosphere.
Though Southwest was profitable in 2001 and is likely to remain so, Cordle estimates that Southwest's revenue will decline 12 percent this year. Over the past 20 years, the airline's revenue has increased an average 14 percent annually.
In his latest offer to the union, Parker proposed an extension of the current contract by two years, through 2006, and raises totaling 35 percent over the next four years. But that deal did not bring the union close to the levels at other airlines. After a 27-hour meeting last month, the union's board deadlocked on recommending the offer to the pilots.
"As a matter of principle, I think we can do better," said Jonathan Weaks, president of Southwest's pilots union. The union leaders said they nonetheless sent the offer to the members for a vote because they thought that the pilots should have a chance to express their opinions directly. Weaks said he favored a complete overhaul of the contract.
Analysts say Parker can afford to pay Southwest's pilots the same rates as at other airlines, given the carrier's financial strength and labor productivity. Southwest pilots, for example, fly an average of 80 to 90 hours a month, compared with about 50 hours a month at other major airlines.
Southwest also can turn planes around more quickly than its competitors, and its maintenance costs are lower because it focuses on just one type of aircraft. Its low fares attract budget-conscious fliers.
Southwest wants to do everything it can to protect that advantage, said Cordle. Union officials, he maintained, are accustomed to the company's history of friendly relationships and to the idea that employees' compensation is tied to the company's financial success and will not press Southwest for the last penny.
Southwest pilots' vote on contract begins - Page 2 - Baltimore Sun
Last edited by Carl Spakler; 07-03-2011 at 08:30 PM.