• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Anxiety Grows for Delta Air Lines Workers, Customers Due to Contract Dispute

Posted on: Thursday, 13 April 2006, 15:00 CDT

By Russell Grantham, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Apr. 13--Evans Harrell wasn't particularly worried about a pilot strike at Delta Air Lines when he and his wife booked a trip two months ago from Atlanta to London. Now he is.

"We're in London, wondering whether we are going to get back," the retired Marietta businessman said. For another trip to England and Norway in June, the couple booked on British Airways.

"We wanted the certainty of BA," said Harrell.

Certainty is slipping for Delta fliers and employees as the week winds down to a pivotal moment in the contract dispute between the airline and its pilots union -- and perhaps in Delta's 77-year history. Even while experts predict a settlement, some travelers are booking summer trips elsewhere, and anxiety within Delta's work force grows.

Talks on a contract deal that would avert the strike threat continued Wednesday in New York, where they shifted this week after earlier sessions in Washington. Neither side would comment on the significance of the locale change or characterize the discussions.

An arbitration panel involved in the dispute is supposed to rule by Saturday on whether Delta, operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, can void its pilot contract and impose a new round of cost cuts the airline says are critical to its turnaround effort.

The pilots union contends the cuts are too deep. It threatens to strike as soon as next week if the panel -- which has urged the two sides to work out a deal before it rules -- comes down on the company's side.

In Atlanta, hundreds of pilots, some joined by spouses and children, marched on a grassy lot near Delta's headquarters Wednesday in their latest demonstration of resolve to strike if the contract is voided. They pointed a 20-foot-tall inflatable rat toward the company's campus, with a spokesman saying it symbolizes corporate greed.

Some passersby honked and waved their support; a few gave less flattering hand gestures.

The union also has started running ads in national newspapers.

Said Delta spokesman Bruce Hicks: "The union is demonstrating its unity and resolve -- as can be expected when negotiations are coming down to the eleventh hour -- but our pilots at the same time are performing professionally, flying their schedules and taking good care of our customers.

"That's where our focus is, too -- on our customers, and on working hard to seek a competitive, consensual agreement," Hicks continued. "There has been no disruption in service due to union activity, and the traveling public can continue to book on Delta with confidence."

Still, some people with a stake in the situation are resorting to letter-writing campaigns, appeals on Web sites and prayer meetings to stave off a strike that could be fatal to an airline weakened by years of huge financial losses.

"I hope you will take into consideration that there are 41,000 of us out here that your decisions will impact; 41,000 of us that have mortgages, kids to feed, cars to pay for and backs to put clothes on," Delta reservations agent Mike Maharrey told pilots union Chairman Lee Moak in a letter that has circulated widely among employees through e-mails.

In Fayette County, home to many Delta employees, New Hope Baptist Church's congregation huddled around about 40 Delta employees at their Sunday evening service, praying.

"We're just mindful of the deadline that is coming down. We sort of prayed for a Good Friday peace agreement," said senior pastor Rhys Stenner.

A native of England, Stenner says he remembers how coal mine closings and strikes there devastated communities. He said the prayer session was partly aimed at bringing "a sense of peace" to Delta employees and other church members.

"We are a church that believes prayer changes things, so we're optimistic that wisdom will prevail," he said.

Delta wants about $305 million in annual pilot cost cuts as part of its Chapter 11 turnaround plan. The proposal includes an 18 percent wage decrease, along with long-term compensation for any retirement benefit cuts resulting from the bankruptcy reorganization.

Pilots have offered a package valued at about $140 million.

The two sides agreed on a 14 percent pay cut in December, but that was a temporary deal to be superseded by a new long-term accord. The arbitration panel became involved when the two sides missed a March 1 deadline for that long-term deal.

Pilots, who were the industry's best-paid until they agreed to a 32.5 percent wage cut in late 2004 under an earlier recovery plan, say the latest demand is too high and imposes disproportionate pain on pilots. Delta says it needs the pilot cuts for its recovery to gain ground and that all worker groups should contribute proportionally.

Scenarios vary for how the dispute may play out. A settlement by Saturday would defuse it, although a tentative agreement still would need to be ratified in coming weeks. If the panel rules in Delta's favor, the airline could seek an injunction to block a walkout. Legal experts say the issue is in a gray area since Delta is in bankruptcy court.

Some who've followed the dispute expect the arbitration panel to extend its decision deadline beyond Saturday, especially if talks are progressing.

Travel agents and industry-watchers say they still expect Delta to avoid a strike, and believe most travelers still are booking normally. However, travelers are advised to pay with credit cards so that if the trip is canceled, the charge can be as well.

Some say the first place Delta would feel a pinch is international bookings, where travelers want certainty. That's also a category Delta is trying to pump up with new routes this summer, as part of its recovery effort.

Terry Brennan, president of Williamsburg Travel Management in Atlanta, said he's so far seeing only "a very tiny percentage" of travelers booking tickets elsewhere -- mostly overseas fliers. He thinks business travelers expect Delta to avoid a strike.

"We are not seeing people avoid Delta. They are asking a lot of questions," he said. "I think Thursday and Friday will really tell the tale."

Delta isn't saying how much its bookings have been affected.

"We clearly are impacted. We've had a substantial number of questions from customers, but we're not quantifying the impact," Hicks said.

Aaron Wendel, a technical sales consultant for software company Oracle, has both business and personal reasons to hope for a deal. He's still booking business trips on Delta, but he makes sure he can fly on another carrier if needed.

"Everything I do now has a backup plan," he said.

What worries him more, he added, is that he used more than 400,000 SkyMiles to book first-class seats for himself and his future bride on May trips to St. Thomas for the wedding and Paris for the honeymoon.

Still, he's hopeful.

"I can't imagine they're going to strike themselves out of business," he said.

Staff writer Dave Hirschman contributed to this article.

-----

To see more of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.ajc.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

DALRQ, BAB, BAY,

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

More News in this Category