Originally Posted by
Check Essential
This post illustrates the new dynamic at play in this vote.
This will be the first contract where senior Delta pilots no longer have a DB pension to protect.
In the past, a large number of senior captains could always be counted on to vote yes on any TA that would avoid a strike. They only had a few years to go before starting to collect retirement checks and they wanted no disruptions or harm to the company. They were totally risk averse because of the defined benefit. That factor has been eliminated.
As Timbo said earlier in the thread - this TA does almost nothing for senior widebody captains. The meager pay raises and the paltry 1% bump in DC will have little effect on their retirements. Plus the new work rules will only mean they have to work more hours per month in their final years.
A lot more of those previously automatic yes voters may be tempted to roll the dice and vote no this time.
I agree. This TA is way more weighted toward the junior half of the list. That being said, for the senior POV, how can you rationalize putting a 19.7% pay increase back on the table for an unknown period of time and remotely call that a victory? Do the math. It will take exponentially more pay to recoup what we are guaranteed in this TA with every passing month. If I had less than 5 years left, it would be foolish to say no. I have 14, and I think it is idiotic to say no hoping for more pay in an undetermined amount of time. The numbers do not lie, and the amounts we are talking about are not in our favor it matters not how unified we are, nor how righteous we are in what we are "owed".