You are correct. The history of the B scale at Delta is fairly simply. In the 86 contract the pay rates on years 2 through 5 were adjusted to 60 percent of what they had been prior. If a L1011 SO got 100 an hour prior the new rate was 60 an hour.
In the next contract the B scale was reduced to two years. Years 2 and 3 only and the pay increased to 80 percent of the old A scale in those two years. Effectively 75 percent of the B scale was eliminated. In the 96 contract all percentages were set back to the original A scale and the B scale was happily dead. That contract however introduced express.
Express however was not a pay cut for new hires. They got paid about the same on Express as if they had been a 727 SO.
The actual pay cut at Express was absorbed by the senior FO's about to upgrade to Captain. 350 Captains positions were removed from the mix delaying FO upgrades substantially.
Delta management refused to ever admit there was a B scale since only one pay scale was published in the contract. They did not have to publish a A scale rate because they had no pilots in years 2 to 5 when the 86 contract was signed. This was in fact a Bold Faced Lie because with the purchase of Western Airlines they now a bunch of pilots in years 2 to 5 hired before the start of the B scale. Management secretly paid them A scale wages to avoid lawsuits but never published the A scale rates to avoid upsetting all the pilots at Delta in those same year groups getting paid 40 percent less and yes for you ALPA bashers they went along with that.
When the 89 contract was finally signed almost 2 years late there was a very small amount of retro pay back to the amendable date. The B Scale elimination in years 4 and 5 and the pay increase in years 2 and 3 was not however retroactive and no retro paid to those pilots.