Delta pilots to conduct ‘practice strike’

[Flufdriver]

What some of you are forgetting and keep talking about "a contract is a contract" is....DAL is in BK now, a whole different animal. The judge really doesn't care about "the contract". He has creditors to make happy! U had a contract, UAL had a contract...big deal, so you have a contract that is basically worthless like the stock!!

 

[Deleted by Moderator]

That may be true but that doesn't stop them from striking if they want to. The saddest part is that there used to be an amicable relationship between the two parties but if they throw out this contract after the "do it once and do it right" campaign, the blood will always be bad.

 

[luv2fly]

A practice strike would be easy to perform...

-Sell the house(s)
-Move in with relatives
-Apply for unemployment
-Learn to budget on unemployment "wages"
-Lock all doors and barracade windows to protect from lench mobs of thousands of angry ex-Delta employees that lost jobs due to a pride showdown
-Obtain a new skill b/c it might be difficult to get into another carrier's ranks with a history of shutting down a carrier

Did I miss anything?

Yes you did. I know you had no sincerity in your mock strike checklist, but I will go through it regardless.

1. Sell the house. Won't have too. Another income in the family and have been working on a third for this very scenario.

2. Move in with relatives. I would rather be roomates with Leo Mullin. No thank you. See above.

3. Apply for unemployment. Did that last time DL furloughed me. Subsequently resolved to not to be blindsided again and planned accordingly. See above.

4. Learn to budget on unemployment wages. Don't plan on unemployement wages, and realistically, I would doubt most pilots would. As naive as you may believe pilots are, you would be suprised to know that planning is one thing we do quite well. Might have something to do with the fact we do quite alot of it in conjunction with our job duties. This possible strike is not something that just happened overnight.

5. Lock all the doors etc... Why? Is someone threatening me? Pride showdown? To have a showdown there have to be two parties. It sounds to me that you are only including one here. Perhaps you meant to inform DL management to lock their doors as well?

6. Learn a new trade. I think that is the best idea you present. I would advise anyone in volatile business like the airlines to branch out.
After all, if one of those coughing birds turns up in our back yard, or Iran decides that they really are that stupid, all hell is going to break loose.

 

[jimntx]

I don't think you can file for unemployment in some places if you lose your job while on strike.

I used to work for Texas Employment Commission. You are correct that you can not draw unemployment compensation while participating in a strike--legal or otherwise.

However, there is a workaround. "I'm not on strike. It's those other guys. I'd go to work tomorrow, but the company is shut down. And, even if it weren't, I'd be killed by those vicious union goons if I tried to get into work."

 

[Bear96]

I used to work for Texas Employment Commission. You are correct that you can not draw unemployment compensation while participating in a strike--legal or otherwise.

However, there is a workaround. "I'm not on strike. It's those other guys. I'd go to work tomorrow, but the company is shut down. And, even if it weren't, I'd be killed by those vicious union goons if I tried to get into work."

Just want to point out that while this may be true in Texas, unemployment compensation laws vary by state. Unsurprisingly, you will find southern states less likely to extend unemployment compensation to those caught up in a union-related work stoppage than the bluer states. So if you are DL employee (or a NW one for that matter) you might want to check the website of the state government in the state where you work as part of your planning to see if you will be covered by UC should the sh!t hit the fan.

 

[Ch. 12]

Yes you did. I know you had no sincerity in your mock strike checklist, but I will go through it regardless.

Yes I did and no I didn't have any sincerity. If pilots are so wise to the ways as we are always told, why do they have to "practice" striking? Call it what it is and that is a public service announcement to try to get people to book away from your own company and put pressure on mgmt to seek concessions that are less-than-adequate to ensure long term survival. It is atrocious to me that the motives of some of the group are now bordering on sabotage. Kind of tells me that there is no interest in long-term survival for the company among those (hopefully "few") that are trying to persuade the public that we are too instable to count on for future reservations.

Thanks so much (insincere again) for supporting the sabotage of our future revenue.

-Chapter 12

 

[WNrforlife]

Call it what it is and that is a public service announcement to try to get people to book away from your own company and put pressure on mgmt to seek concessions that are less-than-adequate to ensure long term survival.

DALPA pilots don't have the ba11s to admit to sabotage. They will not even negotiate with their own company.

What a bunch of morons. I wonder if they know that they are the laughing stock of the industry.

 

[michael707767]

Call it what it is and that is a public service announcement to try to get people to book away from your own company and put pressure on mgmt to seek concessions that are less-than-adequate to ensure long term survival.

management would never seek more concessions than are adequate for long term survival would they?

 

[TheDog2004]

management would never seek more concessions than are adequate for long term survival would they?

So that makes an action that drives away customers a good idea?

that statement is completely unrelated to the effects of the practice strike.

 

[Ch. 12]

management would never seek more concessions than are adequate for long term survival would they?

Just like budgeting, there is never an exact figure for what costs/revenues will be in the future but mgmt must make sure that they can cut costs enough to handle the fluctuations. If they ask for $300M and fuel doubles, it wasn't enough, if they ask for $300M and yields dougle, it was more than enough. If you can predict the future, you should be the one deciding how much but mgmt has to plan on a range of scenarios. Trust me...few are getting rich on red ink so I'd tend to believe that these cuts really are necessary. Sure we can analyze after the fact once we know what the actual costs and revenues are after they occur but this is FORECASTING and that is that. But I guess the pilots happen to know that a company that is losing tons of money doesn't really need to cut costs, right?

And I agree with The Dog...amounts have nothing to do with the atrocious route being taken by the pilots through "practicing" which is...like I said before...not a practice but rather a sabotage against the demand for DL travel. :down: :down: :down:

 

[michael707767]

Just like budgeting, there is never an exact figure for what costs/revenues will be in the future but mgmt must make sure that they can cut costs enough to handle the fluctuations. If they ask for $300M and fuel doubles, it wasn't enough,

if fuel doubles and they don't raise fares, then they have a problem. Let's say fuel triples? Or quadruples? Should the employees take more cuts? At what point is it a fuel cost problem and not a labor cost problem?

 

[Ch. 12]

if fuel doubles and they don't raise fares, then they have a problem. Let's say fuel triples? Or quadruples? Should the employees take more cuts? At what point is it a fuel cost problem and not a labor cost problem?

Right now it's a manageable cost problem. DL can manage getting labor costs back in line with what the market will bear but does not have any control over fuel. Yes...if fuel spikes and labor costs are down where they need to be, that is a negative fluctuation on the bottom line. Again...you can't predict for the fluctuations but apparantly the supremely-intelligent ALPA can since they seem to KNOW that DL doesn't need the cuts it seeks. ALPA KNOWS exactly what will happen in the future and that DL can afford to pay inflated rates and still turn a profit long-term.

 

[michael707767]

ALPA KNOWS exactly what will happen in the future and that DL can afford to pay inflated rates and still turn a profit long-term.

inflated rates? Tell me, do you even know what Delta pilots make compared to other airlines? I think you would be surprised.

 

[Ch. 12]

inflated rates? Tell me, do you even know what Delta pilots make compared to other airlines? I think you would be surprised.

Round and round we go.

Yup and I don't buy into the mentality of "other airline comparisons" anyways. "What the market will bear" does not mean that you take UA +1. All of the carriers fell for that in the late 90's and it bit them all. If profits are down and thousands are on furlough due to excess capacity (thank you LCCs), you can't expect to make 6 figures for a job that is not as in demand as it once was. Just like yields...it is supply and demand. If you want to compare to other carriers, just jump ship and head elsewhere. We have all gone round and round with the OA comparisons but when it comes down to it, anybody can spin however they want since the pay across carriers is complex. You have to look at the actual seniority at a carrier as well as equip types. And let's not forget efficiency (WN) and profits (not much of anybody). We've got to get the ship floating again before we can head for deeper waters. Digging more holes in the hull or refusing to help patch them will only make the ship sink quicker.

And back to the topic b/c I'm sick of the same arguments about pilot pay...conducting a 'practice' strike has no intention other than to further damage the ship to save a group's pride and help the ship sink faster. Since it would be a very unwise decision to have a real strike, a 'practice' is a 'freebie' where the pilots will try to persuade pax to look at other carriers and avoid DL. Pretty dumb and selfish move from a group that continuously posts about superior intelligence and overwhelming generousity. I don't see either in this sabotage.

 

[Vikedog64]

Round and round we go.

Yup and I don't buy into the mentality of "other airline comparisons" anyways. "What the market will bear" does not mean that you take UA +1. All of the carriers fell for that in the late 90's and it bit them all. If profits are down and thousands are on furlough due to excess capacity (thank you LCCs), you can't expect to make 6 figures for a job that is not as in demand as it once was. Just like yields...it is supply and demand. If you want to compare to other carriers, just jump ship and head elsewhere. We have all gone round and round with the OA comparisons but when it comes down to it, anybody can spin however they want since the pay across carriers is complex. You have to look at the actual seniority at a carrier as well as equip types. And let's not forget efficiency (WN) and profits (not much of anybody). We've got to get the ship floating again before we can head for deeper waters. Digging more holes in the hull or refusing to help patch them will only make the ship sink quicker.

And back to the topic b/c I'm sick of the same arguments about pilot pay...conducting a 'practice' strike has no intention other than to further damage the ship to save a group's pride and help the ship sink faster. Since it would be a very unwise decision to have a real strike, a 'practice' is a 'freebie' where the pilots will try to persuade pax to look at other carriers and avoid DL. Pretty dumb and selfish move from a group that continuously posts about superior intelligence and overwhelming generousity. I don't see either in this sabotage.

I am just embarressed for this whole company. The management mistakes over the years, pilots and management in the news every year over concessions and then pointing the finger at each other and the typical F/A's gripes, and now a "practice" strike? We have hit a new low. :down: