uSSP Letter of Agreement Not Ratified by MEC

The MEC convened Thursday via conference call and voted not to ratify the uSSP LOA. That LOA would have offered SSP-style interviews to pilots hired after January 6 and before August 1. However, feedback from the affected pilots overwhelmingly centered on the 2-year Captain requirement prior to being offered a class date at Delta, which was felt to be too long and too uncertain. Many pilots also believed that, with the anticipated retirements at the majors over the coming years, pilots will be in a position to move on more quickly than the uSSP would have allowed. The MEC would have preferred to see an overall service requirement in lieu of a 2-year Captain requirement, because that would have given uSSP pilots a firm timeline for advancement.

The MEC is committed to working to secure more favorable terms for our recently hired pilots, consistent with their expectations.

This was posted already... A little bit late to the game.

Trust me, the SSP exists because it's a necessity of management. They are not charitable, this thing exists so Delta can delay your career progression in their benefit.

I bet you $100 that if you really tried, you could be at another legacy before you get a class date at Delta.

The problem with this is that they will have already invested in you, only to fire you and get no return on their investment. They could avoid wasting that money by weeding you out before spending any with an interview instead of a straight flow.

I dont dispute that its a simple business decision for them, but its also true that it does have real benefits for us. As for your $100 bet, define try really hard lol. I did try really hard with multiple apps out everywhere before my number came up for the SSP. If someone else called and I got a job, it is true that I would be in class sooner than I will via the SSP. But securing said interview is completely out of my hands. Whereas all I had to do here was send an email saying I wanted an interview. For me, that tradeoff was worth it. Of course I realize nothing is really guaranteed, but while its true that we could all be hired elsewhere outside of the SSP, more of us will have jobs with Delta sooner than we otherwise would without it.

The dead horse is being pounded.

Sounds like a great way to enable pilot pushing. "Oh, don't want to fly this flight because you think that mechanical issue should be fixed instead of deferred? You know that if we put a letter in your file your chances of moving on are lowered, right?"

If Delta wants to continue to interview their pilots rather than flow them, that's their call, and there's nothing inherently wrong with that. A requirement for a certain number of years of service (not dependent on seat) before an interview is perfectly reasonable.

Exactly, I don't see what the big deal is. If someone feels that they might be able to get hired before the 2 year captain requirement, then so be it. Use the USSP as a backup.

No, the SSP should not be seen as a form of compensation, or gift. Look at the last TA at Delta that got shot down. It is clear that management, and ALPA feels entitled to our cheap labor over the higher cost mainline pilots. Why is that? It's that imaginary divide between two groups doing the exact same job.

The RJ's should be flown at mainline, this should not even be an issue. This is all union politics that this situation even exists, it's disgraceful.

To be clear, I'm not completely sold on the 2 year captain thing, and the union probably did a good thing rejecting it. Upgrade time can change, and you're essentially pushing everyone's advancement back by at least two years should movement stop (which you hope doesn't happen but is always a possibility). Having a requirement for 2 years as captain OR a certain number of total years at the airline would make more sense. If it were a guaranteed flow I'd probably feel differently, but as long as you still have to interview it seems fair to have a clearer path to that interview.

They should, but the horse left the barn on that a while ago and it's going to be hell trying to round it up and put it back in. In the meantime, taking decent deals when you can is not a horrible idea.