DL NW seniority list
This was on the DALPA forum, before it was removed by their web master. It's self explanatory. DALPA screwed their retired pilots and did a poor job for most of the DAL pilots
Recap from this memo last spring:
TO: All Northwest Pilots
FROM: NWA MEC Chairman Dave Stevens
DATE: April 14, 2008
The seniority negotiations broke down over the Delta pilot leadership’s desire to include aircraft options, not just orders, in the seniority integration ratio. We were not willing to adjust the seniority integration ratio in favor of Delta pilots based on options, particularly when such options were unlikely to be exercised, other than as replacement aircraft, in the worsening economic environment. The resulting difference in our respective positions on a ratio was substantial. The actual breakdown occurred when, in response to my suggestion that we both compromise and bring that to our respective MECs for their consideration, we were advised that the Delta pilot group could not move off their last ratio proposal.
Unfortunately, the Delta pilot leadership rejected arbitration, whether expedited or not, as a means to resolve the seniority list dispute. From that point, Delta management, the Delta pilot leadership and Northwest management chose a different path. NWA management proposed a traditional merger to Delta management. Then Delta management entered into bilateral negotiations with the representatives of the Delta MEC. At the same time, they abandoned the joint pilot contract approach and have, instead, agreed to a Delta pilot contract amendment which will increase the pay and benefits for only Delta pilots. The Northwest pilots are excluded from the economic benefits.
8 months later and after millions of union dollars spent on the SLI arbitration that DALPA rejected, there is a joint contract, DALPA lost the aircraft options argument, B-747 walled off from Delta pilots for 5 years after a single operating certificate, the "pullout / plugin" to fix the NWA pilot expectations of advancement due to older pilots retiring (274 subtraction of NWA pilot seniority numbers), and the bottom of the list being mostly Delta pilots (48 bottom solely Delta) are all in former NWA pilots' favor.
Pitiful expensive and divisive DALPA politics - business as usual. Northwest pilots kept their previously earned qual and nonqual pensions which Delta pays premiums and from their treasury, and they got big raises - especially on the heavy iron. AND they can hold their heads up for not taking a bribe and screwing their retirees. Congratulations to them. THIS TIME the DALPA back stabbing attempt was rebuffed, and there will be decades of repercussions from active former NWA pilots as well as retired Delta pilots. Makes you proud not to have any affiliation with that rancid union branch.
Over on the "dark side" there are dozens of strings and hundreds of posts mostly negative. Looks like the windfall from pushing early retirees out the door was short lived. Here's a sample:
* Is it too late to renegotiate???!!!! Give NW what they want!! I did better with the NW DOH seniority list than arbitrated list. There are MANY people hired after me at NW that are now senior to me! I was hired in 1991 and have 1995 hires senior to me.
I want the NW list! Call now!! Maybe it's not too late!
* And ya'll thought the Detroit bailout talk was about automakers.....
* I had the same thing. Moved below DOH somehow. Hasn't been explained to me yet. 91 DOH
* It gets worse: The NWA guy that was going to be below him on NWA's dream sheet is now 400 numbers SENIOR to him.
And those guys hired years after him but now senior to him? Most likely younger than he is. A lot of our guys have had their career expectations lowered today.
Has the larger, better-paid, growing, acquiring airline's pilots ever done worse in an SLI?
* The NW pilot one number senior to me (plus many more) were hired 1, 2, 3 and many 4 years after me. On the NW proposed DOH seniority list, these people would be junior to me. So I am literally much worse off than if we would have just "given in" to everything that NW wanted!
The arbitrators gave NW more than they even asked for!!