Delta Pilots May Strike Over Pensions

Nation's 3rd Largest Carrier Says A Strike Would Put Them Out Of Business

(AP) 
Delta's chief operating officer, Jim Whitehurst, said the company still believes it can reach a consensual agreement with its pilots.

"We're certainly not holding up our network plans," Whitehurst told reporters, referring to the international expansion that was announced earlier in the day. "These are actually things that help morale a lot."

Delta proposed service from Atlanta to Dakar, Senegal, and Johannesburg, South Africa. If the Department of Transportation approves, Delta would become the only U.S. carrier with scheduled service between the United States and the African continent.

In a memo to pilots Wednesday night, Moak said that he has directed the official opening of a strike center, an office where pilots would prepare for the possibility of a walkout.

Moak said the airline's refusal to reduce its demand for concessions makes meaningful negotiations difficult. He said a management proposal offered Tuesday made only "minor cosmetic changes" to its earlier proposal. Moak told the AP on Thursday that in that same meeting, the airline said that it believes the pilots' pension plan that guarantees retired pilots a monthly
payment based on their years of service and salary will be terminated. He said the airline did not say when or how it would go about doing that.

"Now they have informed us they too believe the plan will be terminated," Moak said.

In December, Delta and its pilots reached a tentative agreement on interim wage cuts of 14 percent and other cuts equal to an additional 1 percent wage reduction. The purpose was to give the sides time to reach a permanent comprehensive agreement.

The permanent cuts would be on top of $1 billion in concessions that Delta's pilots agreed to in a five-year deal reached in 2004. That deal included a 32.5 percent pay cut.

Delta has reported $11.6 billion in losses since January 2001. It is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter and year-end 2005 results on Tuesday. It filed for bankruptcy in September.