Delta, Pilots Reach Tentative Deal

December 12, 2005

Delta, Pilots Reach Tentative Deal
December 12, 2005 – Delta Airlines and the Air Line Pilots Association have avoided a strike for the time being with a temporary deal on pay cuts.

The tentative agreement includes a 14 percent across-the-board wage cut and comes just days after the pilots union voted to ask members to authorize a strike.

The chief of Delta’s pilots union, Capt. Lee Moak, said in a statement that a negotiated agreement was in the best interest of the company and the company’s more than 6,000 pilots.

"With a lot of hard work and dedication, I believe we have crafted an agreement that contributes to the restructuring plan and recognizes our value to the company," he said.

The agreement must be ratified by pilots no later than Dec. 28 and by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. It is part of an effort to get a comprehensive deal over the next few months.

Besides the 14 percent cut, the agreement includes reductions in other pilot pay and cost items equal to an additional 1 percent hourly wage reduction.

Both sides will ask the bankruptcy court Tuesday to suspend the company’s request to reject the pilot contract.

According to the Associated Press, if the airline and its 6,000 pilots do not reach a comprehensive agreement by March, Delta’s request to do away with its collective bargaining agreement could be decided by an outside group of arbitrators not affiliated with the union or the airline.