Delta Mismanagement
Thread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: georgia
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Delta Mismanagement
Apparently Delta's top managers were unhappy with employee complaints regarding the "new" severance package they are asking the bankruptcy judge to approve for roughly 150 senior executives & directors. They didn't like my characterization of it as "SERP #2". The point of the SEPRs was to offer benefits to selected executives that were NOT available to line employees. This new program falls in the same category and line of thinking.
Yes, current pilots do have a "severance" package, in the form of furlough pay. But it is NOT 12 months pay, as the company is seeking to give these executives. The pilots get a maximum of 6 months severance pay, based on their longevity with the company.
Furthermore, the company is currently DEMANDING ALPA reduce pilot furlough pay to a maximum of 3 months pay. Again, this contrasts with the 12 months pay they are seeking to give many of these 150 "special" executives. That's the outrage!
On Feb. 1st, ramp and cargo personnel in dozens of stations had their jobs eliminated. What did the company offer these loyal employees in terms of "severance"? They got 1 weeks of severance pay for each year of Delta service, to a maximum of 13 weeks (or 3 months) pay! Many of these employees had over 20 years loyal service with Delta.
Again, they are offering this group of 150 executives, Sr. VPs, VPs, and Directors, something they are NOT willing to offer line employees! That's why we're pissed!!!! But if management and the Board of Directors were truly "in touch" with line employees, they would understand that fact and have NEVER requested MORE than they are offering line employees.
Additionally, the companys defends the program by saying:
"Delta executives have participated at the same or greater level in base pay and benefit reductions as compared to non-executive, non-pilot employees. CEO Jerry Grinstein took a 25% reduction in base pay effective November 1, 2005. Delta officers took a 15% reduction in base pay effective November 1, 2005, in addition to a 10% reduction on January 1, 2005."
Excuse me, but my hourly pay rate (not counting my frozen pension and other benefits), has been cut 42% for doing the same job I was doing 2 years ago. After the anticipated March pay cut it will be 47%. These Delta executives have NOT participated at the same or greater level in base pay and benefit reductions. I am sure there are many more line employees who have had the percentage of their pay cut more than these executives.
It never ceases to amaze me, the lack of morals in the typical airline management team.
Yes, current pilots do have a "severance" package, in the form of furlough pay. But it is NOT 12 months pay, as the company is seeking to give these executives. The pilots get a maximum of 6 months severance pay, based on their longevity with the company.
Furthermore, the company is currently DEMANDING ALPA reduce pilot furlough pay to a maximum of 3 months pay. Again, this contrasts with the 12 months pay they are seeking to give many of these 150 "special" executives. That's the outrage!
On Feb. 1st, ramp and cargo personnel in dozens of stations had their jobs eliminated. What did the company offer these loyal employees in terms of "severance"? They got 1 weeks of severance pay for each year of Delta service, to a maximum of 13 weeks (or 3 months) pay! Many of these employees had over 20 years loyal service with Delta.
Again, they are offering this group of 150 executives, Sr. VPs, VPs, and Directors, something they are NOT willing to offer line employees! That's why we're pissed!!!! But if management and the Board of Directors were truly "in touch" with line employees, they would understand that fact and have NEVER requested MORE than they are offering line employees.
Additionally, the companys defends the program by saying:
"Delta executives have participated at the same or greater level in base pay and benefit reductions as compared to non-executive, non-pilot employees. CEO Jerry Grinstein took a 25% reduction in base pay effective November 1, 2005. Delta officers took a 15% reduction in base pay effective November 1, 2005, in addition to a 10% reduction on January 1, 2005."
Excuse me, but my hourly pay rate (not counting my frozen pension and other benefits), has been cut 42% for doing the same job I was doing 2 years ago. After the anticipated March pay cut it will be 47%. These Delta executives have NOT participated at the same or greater level in base pay and benefit reductions. I am sure there are many more line employees who have had the percentage of their pay cut more than these executives.
It never ceases to amaze me, the lack of morals in the typical airline management team.
The morals of the Delta upper mgmt team can not be as low as those of another US airline I'm familiar with.
Over here, among "our guys", the so-called "leader" (actually a temporary 'string puppet') of whom came up to our c0ckp1t not long ago for a very brief visit, thankfully, probably all have round-the-clock personal security. In just one of the glaring contradictions exposed recently in the bankruptcy hearings, the company tried to exclude its smaller narrowbody planes (100+ seats) - dozens of them - from its comparative cost analyses.
Ironically, the CEO of the very successful JetBlue grosses only about $400,000 US per year (so does a co-founder of the huge megastore chain COSTCO, based upon a featured segment on the tv show 20/20, or whichever program.). If true, these are signs of leadership, in at least one important way.
One of our regular Pprune clowns will find this thread and imply (...by never acknowledging...) that we do NOT sometimes work 12-14 consecutive hour duty periods and suggest that we never fly 5-7 legs per duty day, sometimes to minimums if weather is present, sweating the fuel and re-figure what we (and our helpless passengers and cabin crew) require with constantly changing weather/traffic/runway conditions. By making amazingly ignorant, sweeping generalizations, he has suggested that ALPA's trip and duty rigs prevents these conditions (and they we don't often work hard, if ever), as if ALPA creates trips for the company. Such clowns assume that our companies want us to be productive. The key word is 'want'. If this were true, why would many US airlines NOT want us narrowbody crewmembers to have a minimum daily pay credit guarantee over 4 hours and 15 minutes? Such young, ignorant aviators have no concept of the sloppy utilization granted to middle managements if such work rules, incentives for productivity, simply are watered down or disappear.
I doubt that anybody has answered this question, at least on Pprune.
Over here, among "our guys", the so-called "leader" (actually a temporary 'string puppet') of whom came up to our c0ckp1t not long ago for a very brief visit, thankfully, probably all have round-the-clock personal security. In just one of the glaring contradictions exposed recently in the bankruptcy hearings, the company tried to exclude its smaller narrowbody planes (100+ seats) - dozens of them - from its comparative cost analyses.
Ironically, the CEO of the very successful JetBlue grosses only about $400,000 US per year (so does a co-founder of the huge megastore chain COSTCO, based upon a featured segment on the tv show 20/20, or whichever program.). If true, these are signs of leadership, in at least one important way.
One of our regular Pprune clowns will find this thread and imply (...by never acknowledging...) that we do NOT sometimes work 12-14 consecutive hour duty periods and suggest that we never fly 5-7 legs per duty day, sometimes to minimums if weather is present, sweating the fuel and re-figure what we (and our helpless passengers and cabin crew) require with constantly changing weather/traffic/runway conditions. By making amazingly ignorant, sweeping generalizations, he has suggested that ALPA's trip and duty rigs prevents these conditions (and they we don't often work hard, if ever), as if ALPA creates trips for the company. Such clowns assume that our companies want us to be productive. The key word is 'want'. If this were true, why would many US airlines NOT want us narrowbody crewmembers to have a minimum daily pay credit guarantee over 4 hours and 15 minutes? Such young, ignorant aviators have no concept of the sloppy utilization granted to middle managements if such work rules, incentives for productivity, simply are watered down or disappear.
I doubt that anybody has answered this question, at least on Pprune.
Last edited by Ignition Override; 12th Feb 2006 at 03:59.
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 113
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Delta - The Happy Airline
Please correct me if I am wrong, but was it not Delta that had such a happy and contented workforce, it had a whipround and bought an aircraft for the company?
It never fails to amaze me how all these executives can eat so many lunches and dinners, (is this behind America's [and spreading to other parts of the world] obesity problem?). Why these people have to display their personal greed is beyond belief. The fact of the matter is they come into a company on a guaranteed salary plus bonus, stock options, etc., whatever the performance of the company. When things go wrong, they receive a handsome pay off, go down the road and straight into a similar position to repeat their act again. Meanwhile it is the workforce who always has to carry the results and invariably the blame for the company's failure. We are seeing this being repeated time and again in the U.S. airline industry, no doubt it will be in Europe soon. I know it is not good at the moment, perhaps it is because the European airlines are not as big so they don't fall so hard.
It is good to hear there some chiefs who don't demand every last penny, I hope they are the new breed. We certainly need them.
Good luck to all you Delta people, especially the maintence people with the closure of one of your facilities.
It never fails to amaze me how all these executives can eat so many lunches and dinners, (is this behind America's [and spreading to other parts of the world] obesity problem?). Why these people have to display their personal greed is beyond belief. The fact of the matter is they come into a company on a guaranteed salary plus bonus, stock options, etc., whatever the performance of the company. When things go wrong, they receive a handsome pay off, go down the road and straight into a similar position to repeat their act again. Meanwhile it is the workforce who always has to carry the results and invariably the blame for the company's failure. We are seeing this being repeated time and again in the U.S. airline industry, no doubt it will be in Europe soon. I know it is not good at the moment, perhaps it is because the European airlines are not as big so they don't fall so hard.
It is good to hear there some chiefs who don't demand every last penny, I hope they are the new breed. We certainly need them.
Good luck to all you Delta people, especially the maintence people with the closure of one of your facilities.
Originally Posted by JamesA
Please correct me if I am wrong, but was it not Delta that had such a happy and contented workforce, it had a whipround and bought an aircraft for the company?
Different era...very different management. The airplane you mention ( Ship #102, the "Spirit of Delta") is being retired and sent to a museum...along with the "spirit" and future of Delta employees and retirees.
But Ron, Leo, and Gerry will be OK so we don't have to worry.
