Release #05.053
November 17, 2005

ALPA's Delta Connection ASA Pilots Express No Confidence in Management

ATLANTA, GA -- The Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l. (ALPA) voted unanimously in a recent special meeting to express no confidence in senior ASA management leadership.

“Following more than three years of collective bargaining talks, with little to show for our effort, management has continued to stall this process to avoid reaching an agreement with our pilots,” said Master Chairman, Capt. Bob Arnold. “When you combine this tactic with the multitude of management contract violations, the sometimes-hostile work environment management has created, and the company’s continued poor showing in U.S. Department of Transportation performance rankings, you can begin to understand why we took this action.”

Capt. Arnold added, “Most recently, management disrupted our negotiations by announcing that it had not conducted an adequate cost analysis of the sections we have already agreed to in these contract talks. In light of the new Delta Air Lines-ASA code share agreement, management may have to review previously agreed-upon terms. Given the time and effort invested in these negotiations, this behavior is unconscionable.”

The ASA pilots have been in contract negotiations with management since September 2002, when their most current contract became amendable under the terms of the Railway Labor Act. Negotiations have been conducted with the assistance of the National Mediation Board since May 2004. During this period, the two parties have tentatively agreed to slightly more than a third of the terms for the contract. To date, the pilots have submitted proposals for all of the sections of the existing agreement but the two parties have yet to discuss the traditionally-controversial sections addressing wages, benefits, and other primarily financially-related matters.

ALPA represents 63,000 airline pilots at 40 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. Its website is www.alpa.org

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ALPA CONTACT: Capt. Rick Bernskoetter, (678) 640-4510
John Perkinson, (703) 481-4440