Originally Posted by Bucking Bar

Couple of points:

First, these pilots you are discussing are already "Delta Pilots." Our union has permitted Delta management to outsource some of our flying. These pilots are flying Delta passengers in airplanes operationally controlled by Delta Air Lines.

Second, they should have seniority numbers. Delta Air Lines is acquiring their carrier. They are an alter ego for Delta pilots. They negotiate directly with Delta management.

Third, Delta Air Lines is doing this to lower costs. Delta would like to bring the Delta pilots down to the new, lower, standard. Delta management thinks this will be cheaper (and it always is until someone crashes a jet and kills a lot of people ... a tragic, but repeatable fact pattern ) Every pilot in Delta service needs to maintain focus, not allowing these created crises to distract us from our work.

The Delta pilots have a union which has failed to even object to the Pinnacle pilots making an end run around the Delta pilots' representational autonomy. This union has facilitated outsourcing. To continue to "benefit" from outsourcing this union is compromising the future of Delta pilots.

The Delta pilots should watch Pinnacle closely. Outsourcing is the union equivalent of trading altitude for airspeed. If bankruptcy was a full stall; we have now regained flying speed. Our pay is coming back, but we are steadily losing our altitude in the form of decreasing representational power. Even with billion dollar profits we failed to achieve our contractual goals.

Please understand this Pinnacle Bridge for what it is ... an attempt to restart the race to the bottom by whipsawing the regional pilot groups. What will make this next round worse is that Pinnacle now sits at the table with Delta management and enjoys equal access with the Delta MEC. As such, we can expect Delta management to try to whipsaw the Delta pilots too.