The tactics and motives of airline management have been the same since the 1930's. They will do what they have to in order to make money, and they will do it at the expense of the labor groups. That has never changed, it is like that at EVERY airline.

Ya know,

Sometimes I get the impression that no matter what an NWA guy says, DAL pilots will disagree.

So, if DAL and NWA managements get together and try to push the merger down our throats then you are not so sure you are with me in opposing management? You want to be on the same side of the table with management? Management will be backing you?

I'm sure there is a misunderstanding right now about what I meant when I said, "if the rumors are true."

But, if the rumors are true DAL management will go along with the forced merger without the pilots consent and we will have to go to arbitration for the seniority list integration. Are you with management with that proposal or.....

.....are you with me now?

I say again, it's us against management.


New K Now

New,

The D MEC has already recieved permits for informational picketing, so if needed, I think they are prepared. We are all hoping it isn't necessary.

Bar,

We are hearing rumblings from our side that it may be necessary.

Rumor only. But, they must be nuts.

Hold on for the ride.

Rumor, but according to the MEC as of today, there has been no ultimatums given.

Pilot Talks Could Boost
Delta, Northwest Deal
By SUSAN CAREY and PAULO PRADA
April 8, 2008 7:56 p.m.
Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. could be in a position to proceed with their long-delayed merger announcement as early as next week if Delta management succeeds in current talks with its own carrier's pilots, said people familiar with the situation.

With fuel prices at historically high levels and the economy weakening, Delta and Northwest are under increasing financial pressure that has made a merger look even more compelling. A combination of the nation's No. 3 and 5 airlines by traffic would create the world's biggest airline, with a larger network that could boost revenue and reduce some costs.

They also are running out of time to get a transaction vetted by the current Bush Administration Justice Department, a strategy they prefer to waiting for a new team to arrive in Washington in January.

The complicating factor all along has been their pilots, who have been at loggerheads over how to integrate their separate seniority lists in a merged airline. Now it seems that Delta at least is leaning toward treating the pilot groups differently -- at least initially -- if the combination goes ahead, these people said.

Delta and its 6,000 pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association union, have in recent days been in talks about a new contract that would go into effect if the merger is consummated, but only for Delta aviators, said knowledgeable individuals. A spokesman for the Delta pilots group declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the airline declined to comment on any discussions with its pilots or other airlines.

The Delta pilots are being asked to agree to drop certain restrictions in their current labor agreement in order to give the combined airline more flexibility during the first phase of the merger. In return for dropping language that would limit the merged carrier's flexibility, the Delta pilots would receive pay raises, equity and a board seat, sweeteners perhaps not as generous as those contemplated a few months ago but similar, said one person.

Northwest's 5,000 aviators, represented by another branch of the same union, would keep their current contract, which pays them less generously than the Delta pilots even today. That inequity would give the Northwest group an incentive to find accord with the Delta group on seniority, either through negotiation or arbitration, because they then would be able to negotiate improved, Delta-level pay either when the deal closes or afterward, these people indicated.

A spokesman for the Northwest union group declined to comment.

The current Northwest pilot contract doesn't have as much language that would restrict Delta and Northwest in a combination, people familiar with the matter said. But the quicker the Northwest and Delta pilots have the same contract and are on a single seniority list, the faster the combined company could begin integrating its fleet, scheduling and other operations, reaping immediate savings.

People close to the situation said Delta and its pilots are negotiating, and Delta hopes to reach a decision about how and when to proceed by the end of this week. But issues still could arise to delay or kill the deal. It's also not certain the Delta pilot leadership will agree to final terms of a new, post-merger contract in time for a deal to be announced next week, they said. The new contract terms also would need to be ratified by the Delta pilot membership in the coming months.

But the gist of the transaction would contain many of the same features as the one the two carriers were close to announcing in late February, before the pilot seniority dispute derailed that plan. Terms include a share swap a near market rates, with a slight premium for Northwest holders; an investment by European marketing partner Air France-KLM SA; and retention of the Delta name, headquarters and chief executive officer, Richard Anderson.

Seniority is important to pilots because it dictates which types of planes they fly and whether they are captains or first officers, two determinants of pay, along with when they can take time off and whether they would be laid off in a downsizing. Delta pilots claimed Northwest pilots' proposals would jeopardize their members' seniority and hurt their career prospects. Northwest's pilots offered to put the issue to a neutral arbitrator, a plan the Delta pilots rejected.

After a lull last month, Northwest revived the merger idea, making a proposal to Delta that the two go ahead -- but without a common pilot labor contract and seniority agreement covering all 11,000 aviators upfront. That is the way most airline mergers work, leaving it to the pilots after consummation to wrangle over seniority, ultimately put the matter to arbitration, and then bargain with management on a new contract. The process can take years.

By reaching agreement with Delta pilots sooner, the merged airline could shorten that process. Such a step also could win the Delta pilots' support and set the tone of Delta labor relations right from the date of the merger, said one person familiar with the matter. Mr. Anderson, Delta's CEO, has said he doesn't want to do a deal unless his workers' seniority is protected. He was a proponent of trying to work everything out with both pilot groups before the merger, an idea that now is losing currency.

Hang on, Things are going to get bumpy. This could get interesting or very ugly.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/15828596/detail.html

Local 4 News has learned about a plan to picket Northwest Airlines.

According to Local 4 Business Editor Rod Meloni, the controversy centers on
a proposed merger between Northwest and Delta Airlines.

On Tuesday, Local 4 News reported that the Delta Airlilnes Pilots'
Association has taken out permits to picket at Detroit Metro Airport and at
the Minneapolis Airport. The permits would allow the group to set up picket
lines at several locations around the airport properties.

The pickets, according to local 4 News, are scheduled to start on Thursday.

***A source close to the situation said the decision to protest came after
Delta Board of Directors reportedly ordered CEO Richard Anderson to move
ahead on merger talk with Northwest Airlines, with or without, the support
of the pilots' union***.

A key stumbling block in the merger talks has been the issue of a pilot
seniority list. Local 4 News reported Tuesday, it's possible an arbitrator
could be brought in to settle that dispute.

A merger between Northwest and Delta would create the country's largest
airline

So here is what I get from that article:

1. DAL and NWA are going to announce this thing and soon...it could get derailed at several points along the way, but the train is definitely leaving the station.

2. While Steenland is publicly saying he wants the deal and scr** the pilots, RA is still trying to find a way to make this deal good for Delta guys. A clear difference in Management philosophy.

3. IF DALPA goes along with this idea of a sweet new contract for them and nothing for NWALPA until they join the combined list, NWALPA is going to be negotiating their seniority on the new list from a much weaker position.

Don't you think????

On another topic, what are we going to say on an informational picket line...DAL and NWA want to combine to form a stronger, more stable and more profitable airline...but we are against it!!

They (DAL management) are looking for relief with very defined terms when it comes to merger and fragmentation. IE screw the NWA guys in to this deal. I am not sure if we will bite.
The only way that we would is so that all of the deal is still on the table.
There is a whipsaw and it will happen before the deal is even announced.
Lots of rough air ahead.

On another topic, what are we going to say on an informational picket line...DAL and NWA want to combine to form a stronger, more stable and more profitable airline...but we are against it!!

Read the article and read between the lines. Something is up and I think that it stinks.