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Delta Pilots Union Chief Receives Green Light to Call Strike Authorization Vote

Posted on: Friday, 9 December 2005, 12:00 CST

By Russell Grantham, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Dec. 9--NEW YORK -- Leaders of Delta Air Lines' pilots union gave their chairman the go-ahead to call a strike authorization vote among rank-and-file pilots as the airline moves closer to possibly voiding their labor contract in bankruptcy court.

The Air Line Pilots Association's 13-member executive council voted unanimously Thursday to allow the strike ballot "at the appropriate time that I deem necessary," said Lee Moak, a Delta captain who heads the council.

Union officials said the decision doesn't mean Delta pilots will immediately start voting on whether to authorize a strike, a process that could take weeks. And even if the union conducts a vote and it passes, it would merely give leaders the authority to call a strike at some future date.

Strike authorization votes are common in airline labor negotiations and are aimed at boosting union leverage.

"This is an expected procedural vote by the pilots' union leadership and in no way impacts our operations, nor our preference to reach a consensual agreement in time to save the company," said Delta spokesman John Kennedy.

Union leaders may wait for the outcome of hearings that resume today in bankruptcy court and could continue through next week.

"We will not send a ballot out as long as we feel a consensual agreement is possible," ALPA spokesman John Culp said.

The company, flying under Chapter 11 protection since Sept. 14, is asking U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Prudence Beatty to void the pilot contract. That would enable Delta to impose new pay cuts and other changes to save more than $325 million annually. Talks toward a consensual deal have failed so far, with the union offering changes it values at $150 million.

But talks continue during the hearing, and Beatty has indicated she wants the two sides to reach agreement.

The union has suggested it might strike if no deal is reached, the airline wins in court and it imposes terms.

Delta maintains that the union is barred by the Railway Labor Act from a strike or other labor actions without first going through protracted mediation and a 30-day cooling-off period.

A potential 30-day deadline for Beatty's decision on Delta's contract rejection motion is Dec. 16, although the matter could be extended if the company and union agree.

Even if a majority of the union's members voted to authorize a strike, the decision on timing and what type of labor actions to take would be up to the union's leaders.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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DALRQ,

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

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