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Gentlemen—

I have already voiced my initial concerns with my reps and the MC in previous correspondence that is attached below over the direction of the TA. One response assured me that the negotiator’s had constructed an impenetrable Maginot Line of language intended to make the proposed concession unusable by the company. Another response cited what he perceived as lack of pilot engagement and participation at events. He concluded there was simply lack of support and enthusiasm while my take on it is the pilots are not enthusiastic about self-gutting their contract during times of record profits. It shouldn’t take much to excite the membership by extracting an up contract from the most profitable airline in the history of the USA and one that has an investment grade financial rating. Those profits and ratings are courtesy of your constituents, the pilots who made those shiny management metrics possible. Management wasted no time rewarding themselves. Now it is the Delta Pilots’ turn.

I was told the AIP language was still being written and subject to change, yet lo and behold, my inbox is filling with Negotiators’ Notepads outlining TA highlights. How is that cart arriving days before the horse? Then a bootleg copy of what appears to be the AIP in all its concessionary glory surfaces on the internet apparently written before the document was even supposed to be done. Imagine my surprise to find with only a cursory glance that the tracked changes are significant to sections that are extremely important to everyone’s long term career including but not limited to Scope, Scheduling and most of all, Profit Sharing. Most if not all have a decidedly company slant compared to what is current book.

I want to address Profit Sharing separately. Once again I was told a sad tale about a company so smart that their union was out foxed and out gunned by language concerning the construction of a pool of money to be divided and powerless to do anything about it. I find that strange because it seems pretty clear to me based on the words written down in said contract that the pool will consist of specified funds. You would think it would at least merit one of those grievance things that unions often do. I was then told a grievance couldn’t possibly win. It would be a waste of time. Forget for one moment that even the appearance of standing up for the pilots and the contract during negotiations would be a rallying point for pilot enthusiasm. So once again I am told we bought language that was supposed to protect us from nefarious action by our employer and we were simply not up to the task of constructing it on the front end or defending on the back end once approved. We need to pay a second and a third time. Then I see that the new Profit Sharing Pool language in the AIP has been changed. Why does it need to be changed if the company would win a grievance challenging the old language? This is the true waste of time if the first waste of time was a true statement. It appears it isn’t though or else the company wouldn’t have insisted on changing that pool language. As if this isn’t troubling enough, there are 2 outstanding grievances concerning actual PS implementation that haven’t been acted on. A month or two of delay is inevitable however we are approaching a year without even a System Board being convened. This reeks of another concessionary tire fire starting up. Are you really intending on letting Delta write off every single currency debacle, fuel hedging loss, and Beanie Baby gamble going forward in clear violation of the contract? How can you say with a straight face you left Profit Sharing untouched? The company is apparently going to be given the green light to bulldoze as much money as they care to out of the pool destined to the pilots. The bean counters are only limited by their creativity, deceitfulness and greed. None of those three are apparently in short supply at Fort Widget.

If you are honest with yourselves, an industry standard pay raise in the form of an extension might pass the membership. C2K/UAL plus a buck and a quarter has a nice ring to it. Subtract out all the concessions, especially Scope, Sick Leave and Scheduling, means this will never pass the pilot group. Factor in the back door and frankly offensive Profit Sharing grab the company will take full advantage of, then this AIP is an epic you fill in the blank. I am hoping that against previously dashed hopes that enough of you will wake up and realize a second pilot rejected TA in 18 months does not bode well for the association or any of you. “A good deal will sell itself” and “a TA that is strongly ratifiable by a large majority of the Delta pilots” were words I seem to recall. Make major changes or better yet stop it until you meet that operating principle. If the company wants to rush, make them pay for it. If the MEC Admin is rushing then ask them why. The pilots are willing to wait for the right deal but definitely will not support the right now deal.

Sincerely,

Capt Phil Farrell
C44/ATL

Below are my original letter to my reps and the MC as well as my original responses to responses I received. A LOT has changed since then.

Gentlemen—

I am writing this letter on the eve of a vote on a comprehensive AIP that may subsequently become a TA sent to the pilots for a ratification vote. Delta was quick to announce on the company web page that this agreement is an “Industry-leading package of pay, benefits, and work rules”. What surprised me was the parallel quote coming from our union that the agreement “achieves the goal of advancing the profession while raising the bar for all airline industry pilots.” I will delay final judgement until I have read the contract language, however given the previously released AIPs, MEMRAT passage in my opinion is in serious jeopardy. Keep in mind the previous MEC was also certain pilot polling indicated passage of their overwhelmingly rejected agreement.

Had the post rejection reengagement proposal been floated then embraced by the company during the summer of 2015, I think we all can agree it would have passed overwhelmingly. Unfortunately, the world changed and price of real estate went up. Many of the major airlines have negotiated substantial raises, all without significant concessions since last summer. The Delta pilots took notice. Delta management has only demonstrated that they want an agreement on the cheap, laden with toxic concessions. The most profitable airline in the history of aviation (thanks to our previous sacrifices) has needs so numerous and far reaching that it is impossible to enumerate them all.

As far as affordability, Delta has spent more money buying other airlines than restoring their pilots. Delta has made more money since bankruptcy than it did in its first 7 decades it flew combined. The reissued bankruptcy stock is now investment grade, again a goal attained thanks to our cooperation. It is our turn now. Delta can certainly afford a restorative contract without any more concessions. Thanks to “me-too” clauses our competitors were clever enough to negotiate, Delta cannot logically argue that Delta pilot pay rates will prevent them from competing. AMR and UAL pilots will automatically get a raise if we leapfrog their rates.

I directly supported 5 of you. After reviewing your campaign letters and statements, 3 of you have seriously disappointed me. Leverage takes Leadership and it also takes Patience. The company has been trained for over a decade that the Delta pilots will never stand firm during negotiations. They will continually offer either unilateral concessions to entice management to the table or lower their own counter if the company negotiators refuse to budge. I am glad a few particularly toxic AIPs were tossed and someone is finally saying no to any more 76-seat RJs at the connection carriers. Far too many concessions remain however or have yet to be revealed. More negative SL changes, fitness review boards and immediate forgiveness of the JV Atlantic production imbalance by lowering the minimum Delta flying level unfortunately continues this negative pattern. This time instead of FO trip pulls, we are proposing to change the entire open time process to allow the company to pull both Captain and FO trips that could go to more senior pilots. There is a very good reason no other major carrier has Virtual Bases. Delta is unable to coherently staff the current bases. VB will affect every single pilot in every category that has a VB because time will be robbed from the current bases to staff them. I take no comfort that this will be a so-called experiment. The company has so many camels with their noses already under our tent there is no room for even a single additional one. Are the numerous concessions truly “legitimate operational needs” or simply greedy grabs from a company making over $8 BILLION annually?

I want to acknowledge the AIP pay rate finally surpassing the 2004 Delta rates as well as lining up with the rest of the industry. We have achieved essentially the 2016 Industry Standard rates. Is there any data to support the Delta pilots in 2016 would support anything less than industry standard? Let us hypothetically consider 2016 a contract extension for a moment. Call it status quo everything for an industry standard pay rate and a 4 not 3-year contract extension. Would the Delta pilots embrace that? Now add in all the remaining major concessions balanced only by marginal plusses on the periphery. Do you see why I am concerned about ratification? This does not look anything like an agreement ratifiable by a large percentage of Delta pilots, the stated goal. Everyone wants a pay raise however letting Delta management roll another shopping cart through the middle of our contract in this positive negotiating environment is unacceptable and risks Rejection Number Two. Rushing to meet an artificially short timeline has not served us well in the past. We paid dearly to place a floor on the trans-Atlantic flying in return for signing on to the original JV program. The company thumbed their nose at us for years then paid a parking ticket for years of speeding and reckless driving. Is this MEC seriously thinking of rewarding them for previous bad acts by lowering the floor further? Legitimate operational need my Surface 2.

If you think the pilots weren’t engaged or motivated to take this the distance, please think again. I wasn’t at the Marietta Pub to express my concerns because I had to get up at 0400 to organize a picketing event the next morning at the HQ. The pilots I speak with at these events and on the line are full of enthusiasm. They will go to the mat with the company, only not for a concession-laden, rushed deal on a false timeline. After over a decade of retreats, there is no reason to not get it right this time. Fix the remaining concessions or tell the company this deal is not a deal that will pass the pilot group. The pilots still have gateway issues unaddressed while the company only has unresolved greedway. SWA is already pressing for improvements to their current TA. It is not too late to pattern up. Don’t raise unity as a false banner to send a defective TA to the membership as the last MEC did. For once worry about not what the NMB or Richard would think. Rather, concern yourself with what the pilot group thinks. Ed certainly doesn’t lose any sleep over the NMB, but he does over a motivated pilot group. Thank you in advance for fixing the AIPs. Make this a TA ratifiable by an overwhelming majority of the Delta pilots.

Sincerely,

Capt Phil Farrell

C44 ATL



Response A:

[Name Deleted]—

The numbers of pilots don’t tell the whole story. When you announce an event on short notice many don’t even have the day off or already have plans. Many are not on a war footing where they read their emails every 15 minutes and clear their schedules. I don’t consider that an excuse but it goes back to a more important issue. You imply that shows lack of support so the more basic question is why? We talked after the first event at the airport in ATL and the support couldn’t have been better.

The apathy you detect is for the lackluster position the MEC was taking. Instead of fighting for something truly restorative, we were rushing to settle for industry standard rates and a slew of concessions. We were asked to write to the company that we want a contract now yet the contract that was being negotiated kept going backwards from where we are at as far as work rules, Scope, and benefits. I know you disagree but I am telling you what the overall perception is. Settling for less drives the participation down. A show of resolve will gather a lot of support. The two are interlocked.

I was writing because I still think there is a chance to snatch victory from possible defeat. Forgiving years of JV violations sticks in everyone’s craw. Saying PS is untouched when we are not having our PS grievances settled in our favor means we could lose PS from current book. VB with restrictions is still VB. SL modifications is the same banner as in 2015. You obviously see where I am going with this. If this was a contract extension people would vote for the pay aspect and the duration but it is not. All of the shiny things given to management mean a lot. Delta says we are industry leading. OK, then make them put their money where their mouth is. Why don’t we have a true me too clause? Likely because they know there are still other properties that will go even higher, hence the rush.

All I am asking is to put aside the politics for a moment and leverage this into the type of agreement it will likely be sold as.

Cheers,

Phil

Response B:

[Name Deleted]--

If VB is unusable as you say then please take it out of the agreement. That will save everyone a lot of heartburn.

Also most importantly, PS was stated as being kept “unchanged”. There has already been an agreement between the Chairman and the company that we would not dispute the pool language interpretation when the other employees were yanked from the pool. I think this was a tactical error. We likely would not have won the grievance however it could have been used for leverage with the other grievances on PS. Which brings me to the second part of my point. There are 2 outstanding grievances concerning previous PS and one time charges. NOTHING has been done for almost a year. These grievances are in risk of timing out. Have they been settled in our favor as part of this AIP? If not, we are rolling the dice that someone won’t drop the ball making our PTIX calculation a joke.

The PS language is clear. The company should concede this point and settle as part of a TA. If not, then PS is not unchanged from current book. In fact it could be reduced tremendously going forward as every manner of one-time charges reduce our pool.

Phil

Timbo

Pay attention to this part:

"Are you really intending on letting Delta write off every single currency debacle, fuel hedging loss, and Beanie Baby gamble going forward in clear violation of the contract? How can you say with a straight face you left Profit Sharing untouched? The company is apparently going to be given the green light to bulldoze as much money as they care to out of the pool destined to the pilots. The bean counters are only limited by their creativity, deceitfulness and greed. None of those three are apparently in short supply at Fort Widget."

Remember management's counter offer, where they wanted to take their bonuses out of the PTIX calculation?

This TA does just about the same thing, allows them to change the way they calculate PTIX, which of course affects our PS calculation, in the downward direction.

Now look at the changes to the JV scope, another downward direction for our share of International flying.

This is shaping up to be another Cost Neutral TA where we pay for the 18% with concessions everywhere else!

orvil

Hypnotoad has a lot of influence and is very eloquent. The MEC would do well to listen.

Banzai

This is a really good thread.

ERflyer

Phil is very smart.

He would also make a terrible negotiator.

hockeypilot44

I can't see post because Jerry is on my ignore list. He has cried wolf too many times. If someone else posts it I'll read it.

Bradshaw24

Phil says a lot, but I'm not sure why his opinion has more value than any other pilot's. Is there something about Phil's opinion that is more compelling because it's Phil's?

sailingfun

My American friends were thrilled to find they have a snap up to our pay rates. Another big raise on the way for them and APA never even told them!

TED74

What did they give up for that?

Big E 757

My American friend said the snap up went away with their jcba.