Tim O'Malley, head of the negotiating committee for Delta's unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, also said the company plan imposes more paycheck pain on pilots than on other workers.
He said the proposed 18 percent wage cut, on top of a 32.5 percent cut negotiated in late 2004, would mean a total wage cut much larger than other workers have endured.
"It's not possible that I take a 46 percent compound cut in my pay and lose my defined-benefit plan, and non-contract employees take an 18 percent compound cut and keep their defined-benefit plans, and have those two things be proportional. It's not possible," O'Malley said.
Delta contends its proposal is fair because pilots — the industry's highest-paid until the 2004 cut — account for 35 percent of payroll and would contribute 35 percent of overall labor cost savings under the company's plan.
The flaw in Delta's argument is this: Assuming pilot compensation INCLUDING PENSION COSTS is 35% of payroll, management wants pilots to shoulder 35% of the labor cost savings IN ADDITION to losing their pensions. Count it here, but don't count it there.
