Originally Posted by
Flytolive
Although Harwood's 45% is not accurate or a bit too hyperbolic his chronology of pattern bargaining is close. The important point is Delta pilots enjoyed far greater compensation since 9/11 than any other US airline's pilot group due in large part to their constructive engagement with management that also helped prevent a merger with US Airways.
I think you are greatly simplifying this issue. From 9-11 until BK we were the highest paid because we had the last contract prior to 9-11. Simply a matter of timing. Post BK we were the first of the majors to merge, consequently the first to start clawing our way back to a respectable compensation level. I do give Lee Moak some credit here for thinking out of the box and getting labor on-board from the beginning.
So in my opinion constructive engagement may have helped us somewhat, mainly when it suited and aligned with management goals, but it was not the main or even a primary driver of our compensation advantage over our peers.
So I can agree with "somewhat due to constructive engagement...," but can not agree with "in large part due to constructive engagement."
Scoop