April 28, 2023

We’re all collectively taking a deep breath to unwind from the intensity of our contract fight. From staying informed, to attending picketing events, to ponying up for the strike vote, it was “all hands on deck” for C1 pilots.

However, we cannot take a deep breath and unwind from the intensity and sad truth we face at work: perpetual redline operations. We have heard that the operation is “properly staffed,” and that we have 1,000 more pilots than we did in the summer of 2019. Maybe that’s true…on a spreadsheet. But we look at our rotations and schedules—it’s only May!—and we know that this summer is going to run hotter than ever before. This is especially perplexing, a year after the E.V.P and Chief of Operations proclaimed, “We've heard you loud and clear that we must keep working to improve operational reliability and pilot schedules.” And here we are, still stuck with shaky reliability...and our schedules have only worsened.

We also note that Flight Ops management has been at pains directing us to remain “professional,” including a blurb from the same E.V.P and Chief of Operations spurring us to an “…unwavering dedication to safety and professional standards.” The V.P. of Flight Operations previously offered the following sage advice: “Continue your focus on the safety of the operation and compliance with all policies and procedures, including all FOM uniform and appearance standards; a compliant lanyard is required.”

We’re in Minnesota. We can recognize a passive aggressive scolding when we see it. Your C1 officers offer this straightforward response: Delta pilots have never faltered in our roles as rock-solid leaders, while safely and professionally performing our duties throughout a pandemic; an unduly difficult, drawn-out contract negotiation; and a preposterously prolonged period of redline operations. We don’t need to be lectured on this issue. Management emphasis on higher priority operational matters is most certainly in order; quibbling about lanyard colors seems to miss the big picture entirely. Indeed, we urge Flight Ops management to look in the mirror before lecturing their people about “professionalism.”

We respectfully suggest the following opportunities for Flight Ops to focus on improvements in “professionalism,” especially in areas that permeate crucial aspects of our workplace and workdays. After these key issues get sorted out, there will be plenty of time for nitpicking lanyard colors. The following are concerns raised by C1 pilots, and we’re giving them a voice here.

Rotations/Fatigue

The Company recently released an educational campaign concerning personal fatigue levels and ideas for “mitigating fatigue…” after apparently ignoring a significant number of their previously touted “fatigue mitigation” measures when constructing May rotations. They blew off their own fatigue mitigation measures, and now place the onus on us to cope with it. That’s not only unprofessional; it’s bad management. Given the significant number of inherently fatiguing rotations this month (and likely beyond), we anticipate that fatigue/unfit call records will be shattered for the foreseeable future. Please do not hesitate to call in fatigued or unfit for duty whenever necessary. You will be pay protected. Our friends in C54 (SEA) provided a deeper dive with this solid analysis on this topic…also available on the EFB.

MSP Pilot Lounges

It has become painfully obvious that MSP pilot lounges are scraping the bottom of the barrel. We are truly lucky to have Mary, Cheryl, and Nina, who do everything possible to make the lounge welcoming and cheerful—in addition to everything else they do to assist C1 pilots—and we thank them for their efforts day in and day out! Unfortunately, the fact remains that we are the only base forced to depart the lounge and utilize public restrooms. Further, the state of the F lounge is truly unprofessionaland embarrassing. It’s past time for Delta to cut a check and place MSP on par with systemwide lounges—some of which are on their second refresh since we’ve had our last round of improvements.

Mission+

Or is it Mission “minus?” Our concerns with this app go far beyond any perceived aversion to change. Its clunky interface and buried information are distracting. It’s not ready for prime time, and in its current state, it’s unprofessional. A paperless EFB suite ought to increase efficiency and ease of use; this app does neither. Fortunately, the current paper and HTML options remain in place, and we call on Flight Ops to keep those available until Mission+ attains a seamless, user-friendly end state. More information from the MEC IT chair can be seen later in this newsletter.

State Sick

This is unfortunately nothing new, but we continue to experience Flight Ops’ unprofessional treatment of the Minnesota “state sick” law. Whether imposing arbitrary limits on the sick time pilots are permitted to use—or discouraging/disapproving our legal use of this entitlement, Delta has made up its own rules contrary to the spirit and letter of the law for a decade. Although the new PWA calls for ALPA and the Company to jointly approach the MN Dept of Labor and Industry to obtain a ruling on the law’s proper application, we strongly believe Delta’s ridiculous restrictions will be rejected out-of-hand. We urge the Company to immediately drop all specious attempts to curtail our use of “state sick,” and to abandon its unprofessional attempts to sidestep this state statute. Stop stalling and seeking approval for an indefensible position.
Remember, you are entitled to ue Minnesota State Sick Leave if you meet the eligibility criteria. If Flight Ops or your Chief Pilot is harassing you about State Sick Leave or if your request State Sick Leave was improperly denied, please let us know. Contact us (email addresses below) or Pilot Family Matters Committee Chair Alison Britton ([email protected]) , and we will advocate on your behalf and push back on the Company's actions.Pay Issues

This is by far the most egregious example of unprofessionalism in play. Fixating on lanyard colors while failing to develop a dependable process to dole out our bread and butter is a bad look. It is unconscionable that a company soon to rejoin the Fortune 100 refuses to allocate the manpower, machinery, and money necessary to pay us consistently and honestly. DALPA has spent millions of dollars (our dues money) to develop and administer the ACE app to recover pilots’ pay that has been stolen by the Company. There is no other explanation when we are not properly paid EVERY TIME—ON TIME—WITHOUT OUR INTERVENTION for the work we have performed. The ACE app has currently recovered over 63,000 hours of attempted theft…and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We can’t imagine that the E.V.P. or V.P. would accept such shoddy, unethical bookkeeping if their paychecks were shorted. Management’s complicity in this long-running failure indicates an abdication of leadership and a shocking shortage of respect for our hard work. The Company’s lack of any self-auditing (except for instances where we have been overpaid) cannot continue, and a solution for this systemic malfeasance is long overdue. While they are at it, we expect implementation of a system that transparently details our pay, to preempt the forensic audit we must undertake to determine whether (or not) we’ve been properly paid each month. We don’t want to hear any more preaching about the “Rules of the Road” until this issue is fixed.

May 11 Flight Ops Base Visit

Flight Ops will send a contingent of managers to the airport Hilton on May 11 at 1100. While these visits run the risk of being long on cheerleading/short on substance, we nevertheless encourage C1 pilots to attend and ask tough questions. While unlikely to produce any meaningful answers, C1 pilots’ attendance and willingness to address issues that are important to us will create data points that (probably) can’t be ignored. Dave, Jeff, and Kurt will unfortunately be at the regular MEC meeting that week, but we have every expectation that C1 pilots will show up. If you can’t be there, questions can be submitted in advance.

MEC IT Mission+ Update

Capt John Bell, MEC IT Committee Chairman

Mission+ is available to all pilots. Continue to use the paper flight plan until further notice. The switch to Mission+ is expected in the second half of the year.

While Mission+ has potential, we feel that Mission+ is currently missing many features and has several issues in its initial rollout. Delta’s standard by which they judge Mission+ is the paper flight plan. We feel the standard should be the html flight plan, and that Mission+ falls short. Mission+ has the potential to be better than the html flight plan and we will work with Delta to make sure that Mission+ becomes a useful tool.

The next Mission+ release should be a big improvement with the addition of NOTAM filtering by runway, crew rest, and crosswind calculators. Delta has updates and details on the Technology and Equipage page on DeltaNet.

Feel free to submit any Mission+ issues to the IT Committee via the DART system. However, Delta is very much driven by data from FCRs and it is critical that you also submit any issues with Mission+ via FCR.

Self-Selecting Seniority Circumvention

We hate to bring this up. But we have heard anecdotal reports of pilots calling Delta scheduling outside of the trip coverage sequence to secure side deals for themselves. We’re pretty sure there are no C1 pilots who would attempt this kind of extra-contractual chicanery and place themselves precariously at odds with our PWA and the seniority-based system we work within. If there are any questions about what is contractually permissible and what is not, please call us to discuss…beforeattempting anything that seems sketchy. If we become aware of any instances where a C1 pilot may have gained an unfair advantage in this way, we will reach out to ascertain the facts, and issue a course correction if necessary. Hopefully we’ll never have to do that. As union members, we’ve got to hold each other accountable, even if the Company won’t stick to the coverage sequence themselves.

PBS In-Person Bid Assistance
Scott Ryan of the DALPA PBS committee will be at the check-in lounge May 9-11 to offer bid assistance, starting at 0700. Please stop by to pick his brain for bidding advice. We’re also in the market for a C1 PBS volunteer; if you are interested, please reach out to us.

New Lanyards

We just got a shipment of some magnificent new C1 lanyards. We’ll hand them out when we’re in the check-in lounge; alternatively, please send us an email request, and we’ll put yours in an envelope and drop it in the appropriate v-file.

C1 Meeting

Please save the date:

Tuesday, June 6

1100 – 1400

7900 International Drive, Suite 600, Bloomington

Lunch will be provided

Guest speaker TBD

C1 Officer Elections…
…for the next term will commence late this summer for a three-year term starting in March. Full disclosure: serving C1 pilots is highly rewarding, sometimes challenging, and requires a variable amount of work during time off. Family buy-in is a plus, and the ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing is recommended. The only non-negotiable requirements are a steadfast dedication to supporting and representing C1 pilots, and a commitment to integrity, solidarity, and unionism. If you are interested in running and have questions about the job, please reach out to one of us. Previous union experience is beneficial. Look for the full election timeline in the coming months. Our take: A robust and full field of candidates is the sign of a vibrant LEC; we are stronger as an organization when we can benefit from a marketplace of ideas and styles.

In Closing

Let’s take care of each other throughout another redline summer. There are going to be tough days, and frustrating challenges. If you see a colleague in the system that looks down or stressed out, please give them the benefit of the doubt, help them out…and let’s work together to make it through.



Fly safe, fly rested, and fly the contract.

In unity,

Dave, Jeff, and Kurt