Originally Posted by
Carl Spackler
Typical deflection and political non-response. TheManager's point is quite clear and you ignore it. DALPA rejected the idea of placing the pension in the names of pilots. Another ALPA union NWA rejected a similar plan. That decision at DALPA cost Delta pilots BILLIONS of dollars that are unrecoverable. But your point of trying to blame the membership for it by saying "Apparently not a majority" agreed is interesting. Where was the MEMRAT vote on the question of securing the pension in each pilot's individual name? What was the vote percentage?
The fact is that this was a strategic blunder of monumental proportion, from an entity that consistently boasts of its strategic and forward thinking. That's the point. Your performance has to match your hype...or people will notice. At Delta, 5500 pilots have noticed.
Carl
I was one of those guys in the pension in each persons name camp in the late 90s. My perspective was that it was a layer of protection that we did not have. I volunteered for R&I for this reason...I was never called despite being on the books for 3 years.
It was a different committee chair then. He held things close. The 2 guys since have IMO, done a better job given the circumstances.
I did not understand how the union worked then...I still only have a cloudy view. However, with the benefit of hindsight only, don't we all wish the pension was in our names?
Strategic blunder, absolutely. Different time, absolutely. Not the fault of the current DALPA reps though. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.
Now, we have disparate pension obligations. There should be some way to rectify those today. Not trying to stir any N vs S stuff up, but there are significant differences and inequities going forward.