The company controls assignment of seniority numbers and the seniority list. Dalpa can't do as you state. They could go to the company and attempt to negotiate giving them numbers. I believe the company would fight that all the way to a strike. They are very happy with the current divide and conquer strategy.

I understand that the company controls the seniority list.

And maybe, maybe not.

That was a really bad "Not" joke, Borat.

They are contemplating furloughs....long pause....NNNNOOOOTTTTT!

No, that wouldn't be funny in America

The big picture is easy. One word, scope.

If we want "industry leading" on anything in C2012, management's answer will be that we'll be "more expensive" than Alaska, MidWest, Air France, KLM, Comair, Shuttle, Chautauqua, Mesa, ASA, SkyWest, Pinnacle, Mesaba, or Freedom.

We work for a division of Delta. Our bosses rally for us and hope we get more flying. Above them, "Delta Air Lines, Inc." is a diversified transportation management company. They look at Delta's product, then figure out how to serve that product with the 13 or more choices they have at their disposal. The most efficient choice is made.

On the other side of the table is our union. ALPA tries to look forward and negotiate agreements that ensure Delta pilots do Delta flying.

Without ALPA and scope our flying would be continually outsourced until we agreed to perform those services cheaper than any of the other choices, or we were replaced and irrelevant.

MidWest is an illustration of what happens when scope is relaxed to the point that the primary pilot group loses relevance.

I am on board with the scope issue.. ask any of the guys I fly with. But it's not the end all battle. The reserve system needs fixin' too. Lots of issues that had best not be forgotten but the new administration.

I'm just sayin'

GO BIG ORANGE

How will our chances of doing this change when the current DALPA administration kicks CPS off of the MEC? I have a hunch that's what we're gonna see here shortly.

Terrific analysis of the situation, Dude. I have said repeatedly that I want to be paid 1 dollar less than the Air France/KLM guys. Unless we can join with them in some sort of global union to go with our global airline we need to have an iron clad plain language scope section that defines who does what flying on the top and the bottom of the spectrum. It should be inclusive and the final goal should be all Delta/AF/KLM inc coded flights should have Delta/AF/KLM pilots.

Why are the ALVs for the 73N and M88 10% higher for Oct than Sep?? Thought this was our slow time.

Dragon,

Just a guess, but do you see all those 757's and 767's parked around the north and south sides of the Atlanta airport?

The 737N in particular is a terrific airplane to back fill 767 and 757 flying because it has the range for the North American continent / Western Atlantic while burning just over 5,000PPH in cruise. The MD88 can do all the north - south traffic as a Boeing fill in as well.

I'm thinking the 737 and MD88 pilots will remain busy during the downturn.

Busy is good!

What you say makes sense and when I was on the 73N, I knew we were doing a lot of the old 75/76 routes. I just figured that whatever they did for Sept would remain about the same in Oct.

I'll probably add this to my list of questions for the CVG base visit.