Delta pilots explain their request for formal mediation

On March 31, the Air Line Pilots Association, Delta Master Executive Council (MEC), announced that the union and Delta Air Lines have filed for formal mediation with the National Mediation Board (NMB).

Although filing for formal mediation, the airline and union continue to meet. The Delta MEC Negotiating Committee and Delta Air Lines have “exchanged proposals on Sections 11 (Training), 12 (Hours of Service), 14 (Sick Leave), 16 (Crew Augmentation and International Operations), 22 (Filling of Vacancies), 23 (Scheduling), and 25 & 26 (Benefits)."

Even with the March 31’s joint filing for mediation with the National Mediation Board, multiple negotiating sessions are planned for each week throughout the month of April and beyond.

Delta ALPA and Delta Air Lines have agreed to a negotiating protocol specifying meeting dates through the end of April. 

MEC Chairman John Malone has called for a special meeting of the Master Executive Council on April 20-22 in Atlanta. This meeting, originally scheduled for May 2nd through May 4th, has been moved up by Capt. Malone as part of the MEC’s efforts to demonstrate their commitment to our aggressive negotiating schedule as set out in the negotiating protocol.

Below is the letter provided to pilots from the Delta MEC Chairman John Malone:

Dear Fellow Pilot,

Today is a milestone in the negotiating process. I am writing to update you on our filing for mediation and its impact on the negotiating process as well as several significant items including the standing up of the Family Awareness and Strike Preparedness Committees, and a positive development in the rising market for pilots. In joint cooperation with Delta Air Lines, your union filed for formal mediation with the National Mediation Board (NMB). This has been expected, as mediation is simply another step in the process under the Railway Labor Act (RLA) and a contractually-mandated step established in the Delta Pilot Working Agreement. Mediation does not mean an agreement is imminent, nor does it necessarily indicate a lengthy process; it only means that both parties did not reach a tentative agreement through direct negotiations by the March 31st deadline. As noted in my March 20 Chairman’s Letter, this month we executed a protocol with management that defines a bargaining timeline and agenda. Both Negotiating Committees are currently adhering to this protocol with sessions scheduled through April. If necessary in order to meet this schedule, both parties have committed to continuing the process even without the presence of the federal mediator, once appointed. Your MEC has dedicated the resources to ensure you are informed. MEC Alert 16-06 was recently published with an overview of the mediation process under the RLA. More information is forthcoming, including a special edition of the Widget—know that we are resolute in our commitment to keeping you informed as to the status of our negotiations. I ask that you follow the process with an educated view and provide your elected representatives with necessary input and direction. During the March quarterly meeting, your MEC approved a Strike Preparedness Committee Chairman and we expect to have the Family Awareness Committee up and running soon. These important committees complement each other and their synergy is a necessary component in the prescribed negotiating process. Please get involved and join their efforts— our effort—and spread the word among your fellow pilots, your spouses and families. As I wrote in my last letter, be prepared for any eventuality. The stage is now being set in our effort to advance this profession. Last week, American Airlines announced a profit sharing plan for its employees. Just fifteen months into their five year contract, AMR management added a five percent profit sharing plan, outside the normal negotiating process, and absent any quid pro quo from pilots. While still an inadequate valuation, it comes from a management once adamantly opposed to profit sharing—now acknowledging its importance as a shared reward. In closing, your MEC and Negotiating Committee submitted a full and comprehensive “marketbased” proposal last December. We are prepared to meet our goal of delivering an agreement, one that you will strongly ratify, by this summer. Our negotiators depend on the currency of your visible support at the bargaining table. Please continue to provide them that currency by displaying your ALPA-approved gear and attending pilot unity events as called on by your MEC. Stay engaged. Get your family engaged.

Fraternally, Captain John Malone Delta MEC Chairman

Effects of Department of Labor's overtime plan more dramatic in Georgia

A new analysis conducted for the National Retail Federation shows that new rules on overtime proposed by the U.S. Department of Labor would particularly affect management and professional employees in low-wage states and in rural areas where income and the cost of living are lower than the national average.

The Athens Banner-Herald is reporting that under the proposal, most individuals making up to $970 a week anywhere in the country would automatically receive overtime pay at time-and-a-half when working more than 40 hours a week, up from the current $455. The Labor Department chose $970 under a formula intended to give overtime to the lowest-paid 40 percent of full-time workers nationwide who currently receive a fixed salary.

But in 10 states – Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas – that dollar figure would bring at least 45 percent of full-time salaried workers under overtime rules. Another eight states – Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia – would see at least 50 percent covered. The figure works out to the intended 40 percent in only one state, Maine.

The salary threshold would also be indexed, raising it to $1,400 by 2017 under one option proposed by the Labor Department. Within three years, only 22 percent of current salaried workers would remain exempt from overtime.

“This proposal has been spun as a way to raise the income of struggling workers but there are places where bankers or stockbrokers could be turned into hourly workers,” NRF Senior Vice President for Government Relations David French said. “The Labor Department has ignored the fact that the cost-of-living varies throughout the country.”