The following is an interesting letter quoted from the DPA website, brings a lot of salient points forward.


The Switch

"My switching to DPA is not about the people-it's about the process. DPA offers important structural changes that serve the Delta pilot exclusively. This is an all inclusive process where we take the best our pilot group has to offer. Former South, former North, former Western, former Republic, all the way back to North Central and more. Including all of our talent in an unmitigated format. That's the point- an unmitigated transparent structure. I am sure current officers would use their talents, their integrity and their dedication to cause, much more effectively without 'regional' constraints and loyalties, bureaucratic encumbrances and needs.

Industry Paradigm Shift

Whether one disagrees with this premise or not, the national system we and DALPA operate under also represents the whip-sawing contract carriers (regionals). It is impossible for me to accept that ALPA National would happily consider the demise of the contract carrier ('regional' carrier'), who are the very nemesis of our contracts and profession. These carriers are considered feathers in ALPA's cap, not competitors for our mainline flying. To add insult to injury, the contract carrier pilots are more adverse to expanding their flying than we are! I've made it a point to talk to every contract pilot I see, and they are more angry about the continuation of contract flying simply because they see the evaporation of the careers they seek. Even more insulting, these pilots, and us, have been indoctrinated into the belief that "we'll never be paid what we used to be paid". How laughable! I foresee a better industry than ever before. Just like the 85 or so car manufacturers of the 1900's, consolidated into the big 3, our industry has done the same. Before Japanese imports, the automakers were ensured of decades of profits from industry consolidation and new pricing power. In the same way we as an industry have consolidated and the recent pricing increases (in the nation's deepest recession) have stuck, proof positive of consolidation. In addition, new revenue streams such as add-on charges for bags, fuel and upgrade charges, and other administrative charges have changed the industry as Richard Anderson correctly communicates to Wall Street . This combination portends an era in the airline industry that has never been seen before. Gone are the CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board) days, when to get the JFK-LAX route, you had to offset it with JFK-Schenectady, JFK Montpelier, and JFK-Binghamton!! Now we can fly only profitable routes with no oversight or financially draining offsets. Recognition of these paradigm shifts are not possible when you are too, too involved in the company's business plan. We must be engaged, don't get me wrong, but remember ourselves and our professional allegiances.

Not Knowing the Trees, while in the Woods

I won't mention a certain DALPA rep by name, who I respect, who cornered me after the DTW roadshow and said, "Gregg, don't you see? We can't get the restoration you seek because the company is not making the margins it did prior to C2K. Gregg, check the data, we were 10% margins in the late 90's and we are in the 3% margins now!"--- Think about this statement folks. Do you think our financial expert sat down by his lonesome, looked at the numbers, and proposed to the MEC- "Our margins are not high enough to seek restoration"? Do you honestly think he did this? NO WAY! This is management speaking! This information is an argument from management he is using to convince me of his accepted managerial beliefs. He heard it- he accepted it-he mouth speaks it. Right from management. Again, to add insult to injury, he did not even consider that in the late 90's the economy was in it's biggest expansion in our nation's history, and now we are in the nation's deepest recession! The "Delta" of 1998 would be crushed today. Pricing wouldn't hold. No brand recognition overseas, reduced economies of scale, no added revenue streams. Our company is much healthier and stronger than it's ever been. Management knows this. The recent TA reflects this immersion of DALPA and ALPA national into the company’s business plan. Why didn't DALPA see our strength? Why did DALPA settle? We have been hoodwinked. Fooled. Played. With an independent union and no strings to contract carriers and less bureaucracy and more transparency, we can collectivize the combined ideas and desires of the pilots and see their representative's adherence to survey direction. It will not be perfect. But our imperfections will "fault" to the pilot's side and not "fault" to the management side.

The NMB FEAR

After being briefed by Linda Puchala of the NMB, our union was incarcerated. It is good for a man to recognize his limitations, but it is injurious to accept constraints from those who profit at your expense. We all understand commerce has to continue. But we also understand that one time events (BANKRUPTCY) don't fit into the neatly calibrated world of the NMB- and when the government or management are clearly and deliberately intransigent to the needs of the profession, other alternatives need to be addressed. Imagining a professional pilot with 30 or more years of safe flying-the skills and responsibility, the education and operating environments--and the accountability-not having a sustentative pension, or a professional pilot working at wages comparable to a recently graduated white collar worker? A Mesa 9 year ALPA first officer earns $34,000 annually, this is just unbelievable! Yet managements have called our plight "the new norm". Congressmen and managerial officers have prospered wildly while at times driving companies and the nation into ruin, while we have sacrificed steep contractual losses while enhancing the well being and safety of the American public. This requires change, one way or another. We have the power, we have the knowledge, all we need is the proper leadership and fortitude. Separating ourselves from the sedentary mass of ALPA is a first step in the direction of new avenues of action in enhancing our careers.

Debilitating Psychology

There are 'some' in ALPA who possess psychology’s that prevent demonstrative actions for restitution. Our pay and benefit destruction was real and mathematical, this is not an emotional plea-this is a contract fleecing that needs to be rectified. This avoidance of warranted, and historical, levels of remuneration and benefits, may be due to aligning one's self to closely to management's plan and fearing every possible negative consequence in any action, and this limits ALPA's ability to materialize any convincing argument for restoration of our profession. Even mentioning restoration in any DALPA publication was avoided. The word "restoration" seemed verboten. Conversely though, there are relationship issues that are conducive to a well run company--- and mutually beneficial economic processes that we think are necessary to retain and enhance. Our Delta corporate culture is worth preserving. We just hope that management also feels this way. This recent TA illustrates that they surely do not 'get' employee value, expertise and financial sacrifice. An independent union would be able to stand strong-while continuing our positive traditions by pointing out how reasonable exchanges can occur. There is a rational splitting of the corporate pie. Of course we do care how much management gets paid, this is a business. But we also understand there are applicable salaries for different occupations, management, pilots, flight attendants and so forth. But when Richard Anderson needs to take a 63% pay cut-to achieve his own "industry standard" matrix, even before his recent 10% pay raise, we have to squawk! What's good for the goose is good for the gander. This type of discrepancy is disingenuous and an example of feeble leadership. It breeds contempt. This is NOT the Delta culture we were attracted to and love.

The Structural Story

There are, even more importantly, structural institutional characteristics that preclude aggressive dismantling of the contract carriers---the environment is tough enough being that management will fight us on every level-as contract flying is a kingpin in the dismantling of our benefits --even tougher with a hand tied behind our back in representation. An independent union would have been free to recognize and explore issues to solve the 'regional') carriers incursions into our careers. We would have recognized that when Republic is offering $5000 signing bonuses and with the 1500 rule approaching, that we could have sat the 50 seat aircraft down without the play-acting of an exchange for 717's. Mesa’s contract was killed by Delta abrogating their contract on a scheduling performance compliance problem. Hiring pilots out of the contract carriers would have lead to similar results--- without the window dressing of pilots "buying aircraft" by complying with management's narrow body (but meaning CRJ-900'S) desires.

There's also an issue about huge bureaucratic monstrosities that fail to engage and focus with a laser and who cannot move with "out of the box" individuality as APA has been able to do. The very nature of huge bureaucracies is that they must maintain their funding or go broke. This limits "responsible" measured risk taking actions, because any loss of revenue could severely affect the operational nature of this huge beast.
Detractors will point to the success at DALPA and protracted malaise at APA; yet ALPA represented USAir, TWA, Pinnacle, Mesa. These carriers (and more) might be able to proffer different views of ALPA'S successes. Let's take a June 11th, 2012 statement right off of the Mesa website:

“Compensation

Pilots are paid per flight hour as negotiated between the Air Line Pilots Association and the Company in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Labor Act. The Contract stipulates minimum pay of 75.83 flight hours per month. Current first year First Officer pay is $19.26 per flight hour for turboprops and $21.72 per flight hour for Regional Jets."

If this isn't pathetic, I'm not sure what is. By the ninth year at Mesa you could be earning-flying airline routes, complex turbojets, in all operating environments, with huge litigatory responsibility…. 37.96 as an FO, Heck, after 9 years they ought to be happy with 2847 dollars a month! That's a whole $34,000 a year after nine years of commercial flying!

You can see how lopsided this paradigm is. Create contract carriers, whip-saw them against each other. Get the lowest price possible. Now expand the flying, then the gauge---- inside the major contracts. Where is the outrage?!? How stupid have we been as a profession to let this go on? The Delta TA is an example of a couple of accomplishments covering the central failure of larger- (and requested by management)-- upgauging of contract flying. Very coincidental that the 50 seat aircraft could not go away unless we bought bigger aircraft? Who’s the fool here? It's not management! They GOT what they wanted! Only independence can help these poor guys and gals flying for nothing, which helps us who are directly affected by their plight.

Another factor to consider is this; Has the Delta air line pilots ever taken two consecutive years of 3% raises after the company has made money for several years and on tract for more? In our history? I think not! But we did it in TA 2012.
An indication of poor representation.

The "New" Union

The pilots of our airline are still the same. The talent pool even more encompassing, couple this with more freedom, less financial strain and more transparency and we have a more powerful and evolving entity.
Imagine a union where you, as a dues paying member, are not allowed to see the union's nor the company's open positions for work and wages? Imagine a union where you cannot see what your brothers and sisters surveyed positions are? Imagine a union where the impartiality of the pilot's choice is marred by pushing and shoving at a professional meeting? Well this is what we have now.

Now imagine a union free from contract carriers (regionals)? Where the union pushes to capture all the flying of our esteemed passengers? Where contract survey results are instantaneous? Where opening positions are dictated by union sentiment and the union reps are not afraid to demand restitution of wages and benefits, if the company can afford it? Where finances are at the tip of your finger? This is where we need to re-start. This is what DPA is about and why we need to move our talent from DALPA to DPA.

I've experienced 3 decades of reversals. No, C2K wasn't the greatest contract known to Delta. That was a restoration contract after a decade of concessions, while the company made record profits. That was a leveling, and moderate one at that. We gave away 3B6, and the Time Value Of money since 1996.

Richard’s Next Moves?

Unless there are government (election?), rate or other structural issues, that "BIG PURCHASE" we've been told about by several members of the ruling party will probably wait until 4th quarter 2014-or 2015, and then there will be an consolidation announcement, an opening of our contract, and a rush to complete a transaction and a below inflation contract that will be shoved on us--again averting a responsible and full restitution of our mathematical sacrifices in bankruptcy. Boy are we dumb.

But you have the power to change this course. Start being smart today. Talk with your wife and families. Think about how unified support could have helped American and UAL reach higher, Give USAir some reason to let bygones be bygones, and given us restoration. When one worker is willing to work for less-especially the strongest one, it drives all the workers down and deprives them of their lifetime investment in an aviation career. Fill out a DPA card. Talk to a DPA member and think independently. I'd rather get out of the burning house before UAL does. It's bad enough shouldering the "regionals" as it is, it would be worse alone. Now is the time to get a bolder representation, independent, and with transparency."