- Aug 30, 2002
- 9,464
- 14,119
Delta pilots give it up again
- Thread starter luvthe9
- Start date
And what were they to do? Strike? LMAO 
One article stated that the average pilot pay went from 176K to 147K a year. Sure it's a BIG hit. But where can the average pilot at DAL go and get a job paying even 1/2 of that? There might be a few that have other businesses/skills/ambitions, but the vast majority couldn't find anything near a 75K a year job.
One article stated that the average pilot pay went from 176K to 147K a year. Sure it's a BIG hit. But where can the average pilot at DAL go and get a job paying even 1/2 of that? There might be a few that have other businesses/skills/ambitions, but the vast majority couldn't find anything near a 75K a year job.No, probably couldn't make 75k. Maybe not even 50K or 35K. No one seems to know what a pilot is worth, especially the pilot's themselves. DAL pilots had a huge opportunity to bring the issue of the vanishing wage to the forefront, but they chose the cowards way out. 6000 pilots figured someone else would stand up for them someday. Now they've taken 14% less and ensured that every other airline pilot will face a 14%+ pay cut of their own in the future.
The NW mechanics' strike has failed due mostly to the other union's tacit approval of allowing scab labor on the property. A strike by DAL pilots would very likely result in the permanent job loss of those pilots. And that in and of itself wouldn't change things, but if the NW pilots and CAL pilots and UAL pilots and US pilots forced the issue, then maybe the unravelling of the pilot profession would be more than just a great media spectators blood sport.
I am not advocating what would be plainly illegal, but merely stating the most obvious solution to the vanishing wage.
The NW mechanics' strike has failed due mostly to the other union's tacit approval of allowing scab labor on the property. A strike by DAL pilots would very likely result in the permanent job loss of those pilots. And that in and of itself wouldn't change things, but if the NW pilots and CAL pilots and UAL pilots and US pilots forced the issue, then maybe the unravelling of the pilot profession would be more than just a great media spectators blood sport.
I am not advocating what would be plainly illegal, but merely stating the most obvious solution to the vanishing wage.
And what were they to do? Strike? LMAO
And they lament that our (WN) pilots make more money. Well, I should hope so since the fly almost twice as many hours as Delta pilots do!!
$147,000? What an insult!!!! SavyAnd what were they to do? Strike? LMAO
Striking would have sent the lot of them to the unemployment line. It's stupid to give up a $100k a year job out of pride. If the ones who voted against it are that frustrated then they really should just quit and not be a threat to others who want to be there.
Of course none of them will make what they did flying planes for Delta, but most don't know that.
Of course none of them will make what they did flying planes for Delta, but most don't know that.
How do you suppose it got to be a $100K a year job? Delta generousity? And without people willing to risk all of it in defense of their profession, what do you think it will dwindle to? $50K? 20K?
Has your paycheck been rolled back to what you earned in 1988? Are you absolutely certain it won't be in the next 12 months?
MMB
Senior
And what were they to do? Strike? LMAO
Here we go again.
For the record, a MAJORITY of them LEFT a $100K a year job to COME to Delta. (yes sports fans, that's what the Air Force and Navy would give them if they stay in past there commitment). And point of fact, many ALREADY make that much again by flying in the reserves or in some cases by returning to AD. More proof in the pudding is that the percent of furloughees who are bypassing recall at UAL (to come back to wages similar to DAL's) is pushing 80%. So IOW, 4/5 of those called back ARE able to make MORE doing something else, and that's assuming no one who excepted recall left something more lucrative because they still love to fly.I'm willing to bet that if DAL offered LOA's to it's pilot group with the ability to return with the same seniority in a year, fully half the pilot group would try to walk tomorrow. The only reason they stay is because the value the seniority number and hope that at some point the industry will turn around.
It got to be a 100K a year job because it was a specific skill in demand. It got to be a 140k a year job thanks to unions - I won't argue that.
Let me also say that I feel for the pilots' plight. ALPA (and other airline unions) have really screwed the pooch when it comes to their membership. There is no mobility for their workforces and that kills their leverage at times like this. Skilled workers like pilots and mechanics can't move to healthy companies due to seniority rules. That doesn't exist for skilled labor anywhere else.
If I had stuck around at Delta my pay would have been lower than when I started (if you include the insurance premiums). One guy I know has been rolled back to 1992 pay. He is only sticking around for his pension, assuming that doesn't get killed.
So I know where you are coming from, but that doesn't justify actions that would result in tens of thousands of people losing their jobs just because they didn't want to work someplace anymore.
luv2fly
Veteran
Hey Sparky,
If the ones who voted against it left(42%), DL would stop flying tomorrow.
Or be forced to actually schedule alot more efficiently like they should (and cut back service somewhat.) From what I read here about scheduling efficiency, I would guess that they could handle a sizeable exodus simply by having lines that are more amiable to BOTH flight crews and management. Maybe it just will take a kick in the pants to make that happen.
What's the insult? There are hundreds of guys/gals out there who would love to have a job making that kind of money. Just because one company cuts pay doesn't mean everyone is going to take a cut. Look at the FA's at CO. They changed some "work rules" and took NO cut in their hourly wage to come up with the saving the company needed.
Uh, he was being sarcastic, and truth be told, if the company was reporting the average salary of mechanics, you can bet, that as with the pilots, you'd be thinking they owed you money. When they report "average salary" they include EVERYTHING, ie the cost of medical coverage, retirement, even the value of travel benefits.
While I agree that "average COMPENSATION" often includes all of the rest, if the "average SALARY" numbers that are quoted by the company are so wrong, why then does DALPA not dispute them with their own figures and how they were derived? And I cannot say for sure that the "avg SALARY" figure quoted by the company includes absolutely everything without seeing a breakdown. To state otherwise is an assumption. And is there something out there that DALPA has construed recently that shows what they claim to be the actual figures (and not just "a 5 year f/o makes this amount" but more of a "we have x number of pilots at this rate, x number at that rate, etc")? I haven't seen it for all of the crying fowl I have heard on the $147k-170k figures. I would say that if you contradict figures, then the burden of proof falls onto the group stating that they are false. Until I see a counter figure, I only have the $147k-170k to go off of.
I'm not saying that the company's figures are right, but we sure have nothing to counter it with...at least nothing that is being made widely public. Why is that?
