LA NOTA DE LA TARDE

ATW Daily News
Delta, NWA pilots mull merger; DL flight attendants consider unionization
Wednesday February 13, 2008

Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines have briefed their pilot groups, both of which are represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., on a proposed merger, according to multiple published reports.

Both airlines have refused repeatedly to discuss the merger negotiations, but they apparently are allowing ALPA officials to study the potential tie-up in hopes of securing pilot support and perhaps an early agreement on merging the two workforces. Northwest ALPA MEC Chairman Dana Stevens told the Star Tribune that NWA pilots "will not be stampeded" and "will not make a deal with any entity unless it is the right deal. . .We have no timeline.

Our goal is to fight for our pilots, especially when it comes to our seniority and job protection."

NWA has 4,800 pilots while DL has more than 6,000. Getting the pilot groups to agree on a merger and then combining the workforces is "not easy," Avitas Senior VP Adam Pilarski told ATWOnline.

"Where do the MD-80 pilots at Delta fit in? What about the DC-9 pilots at Northwest? Do you sacrifice them because you're going to get rid of those planes? There isn't a good solution.

These are both very old companies with a lot of history and it's not so easy to forget all that and reach an agreement."

The vast majority of NWA's employees are unionized while only DL's pilots are unionized among major work groups. But the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA said a majority of DL's 12,000 flight attendants have signed cards seeking union representation and will file those cards Thursday with the US National Mediation Board.

If the NMB verifies that at least 35% of DL's flight attendants have requested unionization, it can call a vote. More than 50% would have to cast ballots in favor for unionization to occur. Past efforts to unionize DL flight attendants have been unsuccessful.

by Aaron Karp