Delta, Pilots In Court Over Wages

Witness Testimony Begins; Delta Wants To Void Pilots' Contract

(AP) 
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."

No union officials outside the courtroom would say whether that self-defense would include a strike.

The hearing had started with Simon asking Beatty to remove herself from deciding on the union contract and claiming that the judge showed bias through comments in earlier court hearings in which she said pilots' wages were "hideously high."

Simon cited a Nov. 10 Associated Press story in which Beatty was quoted as saying: "What's really weird is that anyone agreed to pay them that much money to begin with."

Beatty denied Simon's request, saying that her comments, made in jest, were misinterpreted.

With each side expected to call multiple witnesses, including financial experts from both sides, union officials and a number of pilots, the hearing could continue through the rest of the week. At that point, Beatty could rule on the request or could give the two sides another 30 days to reach an agreement before having to issue her own decision.

In Atlanta Tuesday, 800 pilots' union members and spouses rallied in support of the union's position, insisting the threat of a strike was not a bluff, although Delta maintains a strike would cripple the company and force a shutdown.

In court papers filed Monday, Delta called a potential strike a "murder-suicide" that would eliminate every job at the company. The airline also argued that, under the Railway Labor Act, a strike would be illegal.

Delta pilots currently earn an average of $169,393 a year, according to a company bankruptcy court filing. The document says the figure is a projection based on year-to-date actual earnings by people employed throughout last year and up to Sept. 16 of this year. It does not include proposed pilot pay rate reductions. Junior pilots make considerably less, while senior pilots in some cases make more. The type of aircraft a pilot flies also is a factor in the pay scale.

If the court approves the cuts, they would be on top of $1 billion in annual concessions the pilots agreed to in a five-year deal reached in 2004. That deal included a 32.5 percent pay cut.

Delta, which filed for Chapter 11 on Sept. 14, has recorded losses of more than $11 billion since January 2001 and over that period has announced it would cut up to 33,000 jobs. Its loss in the third quarter, reported last Thursday, was $1.13 billion.