From DeltaNet - Food for thought . . . . . .
Richard looks ahead to profit sharing, base pay announcements
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January 22, 2008
Richard Anderson confirmed that Delta will announce profit-sharing payouts to employees Wednesday as part of our 2007 earnings report. In his most recent Right from Richard message, he recapped compensation changes since we emerged from bankruptcy and said that the results of a study on base pay increases should be ready for release by the end of the first quarter.
“We had pay increases last July,†Richard said. “We had over $30 million in Shared Rewards payouts; we’re putting a similar Shared Rewards program in place [for this year]; on Valentine’s Day this year we’re going to have a very fulsome profit-sharing payout. And by the end of the first quarter, we’re going to complete our evaluation of base-pay increases for all employees, and operate on a similar timeline that we operated on last year with a July 1 effective date. We’re continuing our commitment to all of you. Our goal is industry-standard [pay], and we’re working hard on a business plan that allows us operating earnings and the cash flow to be able to provide a good place for you to work and a good return for our shareholders.â€
Hi aislehopper. The reposting below was found on one of your favorite sites. How do you spin the following?
1. Delta's max early retirement/severance package payout was $12,000---Northwest, $27,000
2. Delta's post-BK payouts which included the stock (down 8 points from it's reemergence price) and the upcoming profit sharing (which, based on an average f/a's salary will avergage around $2,000). --Northwest's post-emergence awards averaging $15,000.
3. Delta's retirement health insurance for those over 55-none. Northwest--pays 1/2 the premium.
What's also funny is that the Administrator over at that site highlited the fact (the highlighting doesn't show up in this format) that NW f/a's make $9,000 less since taking the cuts. Guess what? That's exactly how much less I'm making since our cuts.
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More than 1,000 flight attendants seek NWA buyout
Airline acted after holidays
BY JOHN WELBES
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 01/03/2008 09:05:11 PM CST
By the end of the month, 450 Northwest Airlines flight attendants will be making their last trip down an aisle with a beverage cart, as buyouts kick in for long-time employees.
The exit packages are part of a deal Northwest struck with flight attendants while moving through bankruptcy a year ago. The only uncertainty about the agreement was when Northwest would put it in motion.
A few weeks ago, the flight attendants found out. The first 225 will be done on Jan. 14. The other half will go Jan. 31.
Eagan-based Northwest, which has about 8,300 flight attendants, chose the January dates for implementing the program "to ensure that staffing levels more than met the holiday demand," the airline said in a statement Thursday.
To account for the buyouts that are looming, Northwest said it hired at an accelerated pace in the second half of 2007, and does "not anticipate any staffing difficulties as a result of the departing flight attendants."
Kevin Griffin, president of the Association of Flight Attendants at Northwest, said the company had until March 2009 to pull the trigger on buyouts. He said it appears the airline has enough flight attendants to maintain service, noting leaves of absence recently were offered to employees.
"But the attrition rate is high," he added. "So I'm not sure. It is quite a few people to walk out the door in one month."
The buyout deal gives each qualifying flight attendant $1,000 per year of service up to 20 years, with an additional payment for service beyond that to a maximum of $27,000. Also, if the attendants are 56 or older, they can treat the buyout as a retirement and qualify for Northwest's health-insurance package, though they have to pay half the monthly premium, Griffin said. Those 55 and younger who take the buyout are on their own for health insurance.
Even though those terms are nowhere near as generous as other high-profile buyouts at local employers who have been in cost-cutting modes - such as the Ford plant in St. Paul, where some workers walked away with $100,000 or more - there was no shortage of takers among the Northwest attendants.
"There was twice as much demand" for the buyout above the number that Northwest offered, Griffin said. "There were over 1,000 who wanted it."
The buyouts were awarded based on seniority, and the least senior employees who qualified had 20 years experience, he said.
The contract with Northwest that attendants approved as the airline exited bankruptcy last spring included wage concessions, and the package didn't sit well with many employees. The cuts capped top flight attendant pay at about $35,400 a year, down from $44,000 before the bankruptcy filing, the union said.
That contract passed with 50.9 percent voting in favor and 49.1 percent voting against it.
The flight attendants did get to split up a $182 million claim in Northwest's bankruptcy reorganization, which brought each of them roughly $15,000.
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Administrator
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