Delta Pilots' Union Sends Tentative Agreement to Members

ATLANTA, Ga. -- The governing body of the Delta pilots’ union, the MEC, voted to ratify the Bankruptcy Restructuring Tentative Agreement, moving it to the pilot membership for a vote in late May. The MEC spent three days deliberating and receiving presentations from union experts, negotiators and legal counsel. Membership voting will take place from mid-May and continue through the end of the month.

The agreement is the product of complicated financial negotiations between Delta and its pilots and the end result is evidence of the different goals pursued by each side over the course of negotiations.

The Delta MEC believes this agreement provides Delta with the relief it needs to successfully restructure, while providing the Delta pilots with enhanced job security and the potential to share in the company’s future success as it emerges from bankruptcy.

MEC Chairman, Captain Lee Moak, stated in a letter to the Delta pilots on Friday, April 21, 2006 that the goal of the Delta pilots throughout the Chapter 11 process was to, “reach a consensual agreement that will lead to our working for a profitable airline with long-term viability that protects the major terms of our contract and that provides strong returns for our sacrifices. I believe this agreement meets that goal.” 

Founded in 1931, the Air Line Pilots Association ( ALPA) represents 62,000 pilots at 39 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. ALPA represents approximately 6,000 active Delta Air Lines pilots and 500 furloughed Delta pilots. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org and the Delta pilots’ website at http://www.deltapilots.org/.

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CONTACT: Kelly Collins, 770-330-4145 cell phone, 404-763-4925 office, website: www.deltapilots.org, e-mail: kcollins@alpa.org