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Delta, Pilots in Court Over Pay-Cut Request

Posted on: Friday, 18 November 2005, 12:00 CST

By Michael J. Martinez and Madlen Read THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- Delta Air Lines Inc. asked a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge Wednesday to void its contract with Delta's pilots' union so the beleaguered airline can impose deep wage and benefit cuts and avoid further financial erosion.

In a hearing that lasted into early evening and was to continue today, Delta attorney Jack Gallagher said the airline valued its pilots and tried to negotiate reductions, but ultimately failed.

Faced with rising fuel costs, Delta is seeking to slash $325 million from its collective bargaining agreement with its pilots, saying the money is needed to keep its operations running. The ALPA, which has offered $90.7 million in concessions, has threatened to strike if the court grants Delta's request.

"The need is $325 million of cash. That is what our investment bankers tell us. That's what our creditor committee tells us," Gallagher said. "ALPA is fervently urging the court to say it isn't so. We're telling them it is so. We wish we didn't need $325 million of cash. But the need is real."

Trying to reach accord

With several uniformed Delta pilots looking on in the standing room-only courtroom, union attorney Bruce Simon said the ALPA attempted to come to an agreement on further cuts, including an offer of short-term cuts with the possibility of deeper cuts under binding arbitration, but he said the pilots were rebuffed.

He also noted the union agreed to $1 billion in concessions last year, and had given back enough.

"The fact of the matter is in that labor negotiations both sides understand that labor strife is counterproductive," Simon said. "Pilots don't strike for the hell of it. They don't needlessly place their employer in dire jeopardy."

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Prudence Carter Beatty actively questioned both attorneys, but singled out Delta for attempting to draw comparisons to other airline bankruptcies, which she said were useless in considering Delta's unique case.

'Throwing darts'

"I say you're throwing darts at the pilots because they're smaller than you are and you think you can stomp on them. That may or may not be true," Beatty told Gallagher. "I don't think this matter will be resolved until I hear what the pilots have to say and what you have to say."

Delta spokesman Dan Lewis rejected the judge's assertion. "I think the one thing we agree on is that we have a deep respect for the pilots," Lewis said. "But this is not about respect. This is a financial issue."

Outside the courtroom, union officials reiterated their opposition to a court-imposed contract.

"The Delta pilots will not willingly work without a contract," said Delta Capt. John Culp, a union spokesman. "If Delta chooses contract rejection over negotiations, we may be forced to choose some manner of self-defense."

Source: Daily Breeze

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