Originally Posted by AirbusPTC

Many of you may have read the ATL November base newsletter. In it, once again, is the typical disingenuous management article about Delta Air Lines employee profit sharing. This type of article seems to appear at regular intervals during the runup to the profit-sharing payout in February. The gist of the article is that Delta expects you to do a lot of extra things while “technically” not being paid for them. But it’s ok, because “Delta says thank you by paying out profit sharing that no other airline can rival”. Translation…Delta pays you this profit sharing check out of the goodness their hearts. The writer of this article has been on the seniority list for 32 years…so he should know better.

Let’s remind our uninformed and/or “koolaid” drinking members that the Delta Air Line Pilot’s Association, our Union, negotiated the profit-sharing payout in 2004 under LOA #46 (2004) [refer to Delta Pilot’s Contract History document]. This was the agreement where our pensions were terminated/frozen, and we received the first of two large pay cuts. The first pay cut was a 32.5% paycut. LOA #46 was pushed through with the management telling us, “These pay and benefit cuts are necessary to avoid bankruptcy”. So, the Union approved the agreement. Ten months later Delta filed for bankruptcy 9/14/05, the same day as NWA filed for bankruptcy…coincidence hmm? The Delta bankruptcy led to and LOA #50 (2005) and LOA #51 (2006) and the dumping/termination of our pilot pension to the governments PBGC. The second pay cut was for an additional 14% pay cut. FOR ALL OF THESE concessions the PILOT’S UNION negotiated profit sharing at 15% pre-tax payout, 20% on pre-tax income over $1.5B. Delta and NWA announced the merger 4/14/2008.

Delta management has since tried and successfully reduced the profit-sharing payout a few times. The first reduction came in 2008. Profit sharing reduced to a 10% payout of pre-tax income up to 2.5%, and the 20% payout trigger raised from $1.5B to $2.5B.

Every year around profit sharing time there is a propaganda campaign where management takes full credit for the development of, and payout of the profit-sharing payout. It’s a flat out lie. The profit-sharing check was brought to you by the Pilot’s UNION and management has tried to reduce the payout several times (out of the goodness of their hearts).