The Delta Pilots Have Voted On Strike Authorization

(CTN News) – To raise the stakes in labor contract negotiations, Delta pilots voted to authorize union leaders to call a strike if negotiations fail.

However, the vote does not imply that a strike is imminent. Instead, it is intended to send a message to management that the airline’s nearly 15,000 pilots are united in their demand for higher pay from union negotiators.

Several major U.S. airports were picketed by Delta pilots during the summer travel season amid concerns about staffing challenges as air travel rebounds from the worst of the pandemic.

Delta pilots union members participated in the vote to authorize union leaders to call a strike if necessary, and 96% voted in favor, according to ALPA.

Before pilots are granted the right to strike under the Railway Labor Act, which governs airline and rail labor relations, they must overcome a number of hurdles.

Delta management stated in a written statement that its pilots are not on strike, so this authorization vote will not have an effect on the operation of the airline for its customers.

The purpose of ALPA’s vote is to gain leverage in our ongoing pilot contract negotiations, which are proceeding in accordance with the Railway Labor Act and in partnership with the National Mediation Board.”

A new contract was to be negotiated between the pilots’ union and Delta in 2019, however negotiations were suspended during the pandemic. In the early part of this year, mediated discussions were resumed with Delta management. In 2016, the last contract was negotiated.

A strike ballot was opened last month after Delta management presented the union with a pay proposal that fell “substantially short” of expectations. The voting process continued through Monday.

In a written statement, Jason Ambrosi, head of Delta’s pilots union and recently elected national president of the Air Line Pilots Association beginning in 2023, stated that Delta pilots have sent a clear message to management that they are willing to go the extra mile in order to achieve a contract that reflects the value we bring to Delta Air Lines as frontline leaders.

“Our goal is not to strike, but to reach an agreement,” Ambrosi stated. “The ball is in the management’s court. The Company needs to get serious at the bargaining table and invest in Delta pilots.”

This year, the pilots have pickedeted at Hartsfield-Jackson and other major airports across the country in support of a new contract.

Their concerns were raised earlier this year regarding staffing issues that were driving more overtime and what the union described as “fatiguing schedules.”

Delta Pilots’ union wrote an open letter to customers expressing their frustration over the proliferation of delays and cancellations early in the summer season.

Delta and the union have made significant progress in their negotiations and are only left with a few contract sections to resolve.

As in past negotiations, Delta Pilots is confident that the parties will reach a fair and equitable agreement.

The National Mediation Board must determine that further mediation will not be successful, release the two sides from mediation and offer arbitration, followed by a 30-day cooling off period.

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Pilots Of Delta Air Lines Vote To Authorize a Strike. No Effect On Flights For Now