Pilots for Delta Airlines voted overwhelmingly to authorize their union to set a strike date on Tuesday. The union said that 94.7 percent of Delta pilots voted to set a strike date. No date has been set at this time.
The pilots are concerned over attempts by the airline to throw out their contract and institute pay cuts. Delta officials say the airline needs to severely reduce expenses to stay in business. Delta is presently operating under the protection of federal bankruptcy laws.
An arbitration panel is scheduled to make a decision as to whether or not the pilots contract can be set aside on April 15. The union has said if the contract is rejected, they will go on strike.
Lee Moak, the chairman of the union's executive committee wrote in a memo to the pilots, 'The results of this ballot will send the strongest message yet that if Delta's senior executives are successful in their misguided attempt to reject our contract, we will strike.'
He added, 'All too often over the past months, management has attempted to mischaracterize the defense of our contract as posturing, gamesmanship and, most recently, saber-rattling. They are wrong.'
Delta officials have said a strike would mean the end of the company. Airline executives are reportedly seeking to cut pilots' wages by as much as 18 percent according to published reports.
Delta's pilots previously agreed to $1 billion in annual concessions, including a 32.5 percent wage cut, in a five-year deal in 2004. Airline executives now say they need these additional cuts to stay in business.
According to the union, pilots earned an average of $151,000 last year. The airline says the figure was $157,000. Either way, a showdown between pilots and Delta Airlines appears to be looming.
