Ladies and Gentlemen,
The window to vote on this TA is almost upon us. Please, take a little time to understand what is at stake before you cast your vote. The decisions we make will last for many years, while the time it takes to be well informed is only a few hours. Feel free to share this with fellow pilots who may find it helpful.
Folks, a wise man once said “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth Is putting on its shoes.” But what about Lie’s lesser-known cousins “Half-Truth” and “Fear-Mongering?” They have remained in the shadows until now where it appears DALPA is using them to sell us the TA: Half-Truths regarding pay and Fear-Mongering regarding a “No” vote. Let’s look at their arguments…
PAY. When taken in isolation the pay rates in the TA can look pretty good, but are they really? The charts do not tell the whole story - in other words, they tell a Half-Truth because they do not include the effects of the changes to profit sharing (PS) in the TA. The charts show “8/6/3/3” as the percentage increases in pay but they are effectively “8/.25/3/3” due to the self-funded changes to profit sharing, which the MEC has acknowledged. That’s right, the 6% pay raise in January 2016 actually gets eaten up by the reduction in profit sharing. In fact, had the TA’s profit sharing changes been in effect already, our latest payouts would have totaled at least 36% less, each! Thousands of dollars gone! Have a look at the attachment (ProfitSharing.pdf) below and see how much the changes in profit sharing will affect us.
Next, let’s consider the “compounding” effect of the pay rate increases. The 8/.25/3/3 raises equal 14.25%. When compounded, this equals just about 5% per year over three years. DALPA is proposing we sell some very important QOL items - which we will likely NEVER see again - for 5% per year and claims this is historic. Historic? Not quite! Even the slides from the our very own Negotiating Committee (which conveniently hide the C2012 pay rate that was converted to reduced profit sharing) show that we have averaged 7.3% per year in pay raises since 2008 - and now we are supposed to accept less? Is this the great contract we were all anticipating after years of sacrifice by the Pilot group? How could DALPA expect us to vote for this? Let’s move on to fear…..
FEAR. DALPA wants us to be afraid of rejecting this TA. We are told to fear the National Mediation Board (NMB) parking us for years while the company drags out negotiations. We are told to fear the loss of millions of dollars due to the “Time Value of Money” (TVM). And finally we are told to fear losing this “historic TA” because the company said it is their last and best offer. Let’s take a close look at these issues to dispel the fears…
“PARKED BY THE NMB” Recall that management came to the MEC Chairman and wanted to enter negotiations early. Why the rush? Simple - Mr. Anderson told Wall Street that by the end of the year “Labor risk” would be “off the table” and Wall Street does not like to be let down. Delta is forecast to have a string of ever increasing record profits and any extended negotiations in an environment like that would surely upset the investment community. So, a quick deal is done and the “threat” of the NMB is thrown in our face in an attempt to get us to agree. With the NMB currently occupied with other airlines’ labor contracts, adding ours to the pile will only slow down the process even more. If anyone should be “afraid” of the NMB, it is management, not us. We can happily work under our present contract, enjoying our present Scope, Sick Leave, OE Pay, and Profit Sharing provisions, while Mr. Anderson gets hammered by the pundits on Wall Street.
“TVM”. This may be weakest argument in favor of voting for a substandard contract (especially considering the TA doesn’t have an increase in retirement contributions until 2017!). Our current profit sharing paid out over 16% of gross pay for 2014 and this year’s payout is forecast to be higher; Wall Street consensus for 2016 profits are higher still! This means even bigger profit sharing checks going forward ABSENT A TA. Additionally, our “me too” clause on pay rates (which resulted in a .55% pay raise earlier this year) continue going forward, protecting us every time the non-contract employee groups get a pay bump. If negotiations drag out, we have protection and our money is growing. Further, the final contract language will likely include a “retro check” for pay rates that look backwards from date-of-signing to January 2016, offering further protection.
“C2015 AT RISK”. Finally we are told we should be afraid because this is the company’s “last and final offer” and any other deal will be worth “substantially less”. Of course they will say that - it is management’s job to get a contract deal that costs them the least amount of money! However, it is the associations job to get us the most amount of value, and there is still plenty of time on the clock. Another favorite fear argument is the company will cancel the additional 737-900s and not order the E-190s. This argument is pure fear-mongering - does anyone really believe the pilot group is in charge of aircraft orders? The company can buy those airplanes today, last week, or next year regardless of what is or is not in the TA. The company orders aircraft to complete its business plan and not to please the pilot group. If the company will be more profitable with additional aircraft they should purchase them.
DALPA is trying to get us to cower and submit to a clearly concessionary deal. In his comments at the recent Peachtree City roadshow, Chairman Donatelli invoked the specter of a PEB. He passionately stated that if we turn down this TA six months before our amendable date we will be involved in a PEB fight. Depending on how you interpret the steps of the RLA process, Chairman Donatelli was conveniently skipping 5 or 6 steps, and that’s assuming the company refuses to continue bargaining. Which cousin of the wise man’s “Lie” is he courting here, “Half-Truth”, “Fear-Mongering”, or perhaps a bit of both?
Thank you for your time and engagement.
— A Concerned First Officer —
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