Originally Posted by Carl Spackler

Council 16 Update

May 11, 2015

During the week of May 4, your MEC met in regular session in Atlanta and spent a considerable amount of time interacting with the Negotiating Committee regarding Contract 2015. These discussions, as well as an extensive session with Richard Anderson and the Delta senior executives, were all conducted in executive session.

As we progress toward a TA, your Council 16 representatives regard the contract survey as our guide, the framework for our future as Delta pilots. While we do not think that we know better than our constituents—we embrace the views reflected in the survey data—you did elect us to know more by virtue of the information to which we have access. The information this week, most often confidential in nature, included briefings from various subject-matter experts, our Pilot Director Ken Rogers, the investment banker Steven Presser who proctored our bankruptcy claim, and Mr. Anderson and his team.

A battle plan never survives first contact with the enemy, or as Mike Tyson so eloquently stated, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” From the first round of negotiations, portions of our battle plan have fallen by the wayside, others have changed dramatically, and some continue to provide for our strategy going forward. When the time comes to bring the TA to you, our brothers and sisters of LAX, we will be in the lounge and on the road to explain our thought processes, clearly outline our decisions, and discuss the information that influenced those decisions made by the MEC.

We will not be swayed by emotion or fear, nor will we endeavor to lead by popular opinion. In every section of the contract we have utilized the tools at hand, to include the contract survey, e-mails, phone conversations, and feedback gathered from flying the line. These we synthesized with the company business plan to arrive at the best, most value added direction for our negotiators, and ultimately for the pilots of Delta Air Lines.

We are optimistic about reaching an agreement with management that you and the pilots of Delta will embrace, and we are enthusiastic about the progress made thus far.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the next council meeting at the Proud Bird Restaurant, 11022 Aviation Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045, on June 11 at 1100.

Fraternally,

Tim, Dan, and Tony