Originally Posted by
Carl Spackler
I don't want anything that means a Delta pilot must lose something in order for me to get it. If there are other NWA guys that do, I have no sympathy for them at all.
That's a good sentiment, but how does it reconcile with this?
Originally Posted by
Carl Spackler
A cynical person might believe it was done because the last thing DALPA wants is a combined contract until after the NWA fleet reductions and furloughs.
You don't come out and say it, but what's the alternative? I think it's combining and then having the junior Delta pilots take it in the shorts next to the junior NWA pilots for the DC-9 retirements. (Before you jump in with "You guys were planning to park airplanes too," let me mention that it creates 32 more seats every time a 777 is delivered, and we were and are still planning to resume hiring after the summer rush, due to that fact alone.)
The amazing thing is that, had NWA's negotiating committee been able to find common ground on the SLI and gotten the original deal done, there would probably have been enough relative movement due to Delta's staffing formula (2 captains for flights >12 hours) and work rules (equating to more newhires at the bottom) to compensate for the short-term slowdown in retirements, as well as no worries about furloughs from either side due to aircraft retirements. Couple that with a better compensation package and furlough protection language for all, and it gets real clear just what NWA's negotiators left on the table in an attempt at their own personal seniority grab. (Not for all ya'll, mind you, as we say down here, but for the minority in control of the MEC at NWA.)
I don't blame you for being suspicious or angry, but think about who deserves it really.