Delta management set the precedence when they announced shutting down Compass in 2019 and did not pursue, with DALPA, a replacement agreement. They were not interested in a replacement agreement throughout 2020 when furlough was a viable threat being faced by a couple thousand pilots. They were not interested in a new agreement while they were operating those airplanes above the cap. They be only became interested in an effort to continue flying those planes above the PWA cap because the previous grievance shut them down. That’s why there is a kill clause on the flow tied to those planes. They still don’t want a flow, but see it as the only way to get those planes in the air in the near term. They can then be replaced by the additional 717s being pulled from the desert as mainline pilots are trained. They know they shouldn’t win, I won’t say can’t because arbitrators, but will take however many hours they can with those planes flying. Then when they are told to shut them down, they will drag their feet with all the excuses they can come up with.

As far as agreeing to something, it’s pretty hard when management didn’t even try to talk.

 

Because of the exceptions mentioned.

 

I get the exceptions...but why even have it worded that way in the first place? Not trying to be a smart ass..legitimate question on my end.

 

The actual contract language isn’t worded in that way. In the quoted post, and I’m making an assumption because I’m clearly Notenuf, it was written that way due to a strong desire to have all Delta flying performed by Delta pilots and until that is the case not to further cheapen our position that we own it and have allowed management to farm some but they can’t Willy-nilly do what they want with our flying.

 

We have lawyers too, and according to our MEC Chairman they think we have a very strong case. My MEC speaks for me. The language is actually quite clear, if you take the time to read and understand it. Almost all the arguments to the contrary here take an incredibly simplistic view.

If Delta needs to service more routes, we still have 50ish aircraft parked. Use them.

 

After discussing this with two people who have done arbitration and specialized in contract law as well as labor law, Delta will have an uphill battle. They said its not impossible for them to win an arbitration case, but the fact they took no action for over a year to address this LOA when Compass was closing is going to hurt their argument. Again arbitration is a crap shoot. Just need to be ready for it to go either way.

As much as we believe laws and contracts are black and white, they are not. The PWA really needs financial punishments for a violation, such as 7 times damages for each act. This would stop or at least make them calculate their decisions more. Companies weight the cost of losing in arbitration to what it means for the company. Delta may feel the cost of losing is worth a high price if they believe it will benefit them more in the long run. Once we as a group understand how the law works, we can then understand managements thought process works, which is the cost benefit analysis.

If the union was really concerned with this they would start a public relations campaign. The problem is pilots make more money than 98% of the American public and the company knows this and will call us greedy. It also wouldn't hurt to get the other work groups on board. Right now they believe the company can do no wrong. We need to show them that scope is in their best interest.

Just my two cents.

 

Thanks. Yeah looks like an uphill battle for Delta

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The "quite clear" keeps coming up...

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/latent_ambiguity

"Latent ambiguity arises when a language of the writing is clear on its face but contains ambiguity in light of the extrinsic evidence that suggests more than one way of interpretation."

The lawyers from Delta will likely argue, among other things, that extrinsic evidence amounts to latent ambiguity. Such as, does cease to exist apply when there were no furloughs?...or how can Compass meet for discussions of continuation of the LOA when they don't exist? Lawyers are really good at picking apart what would normally be seen as clear and concise.

I'm not arguing that Delta has a strong case, just that it's not as slam dunk as DALPA is making it out to be. They both think they have good cases, and both arguments have at least some merit. However, I agree the delay that Delta chose to wait is definitely a negative for their case.

 

Says you. Doesn’t mean an arbitrator will see it that way.

 

Thats true. There is risk. But it’s an acceptable risk, and is worth it to ensure they know we will fight for our jobs and defend our PWA.