‘UNITED’ WE STAND….

…OR PERHAPS FALL
WIDGET TO JOIN WALLY BIRD ON TRASH HEAP?


Wow, what a difference a day makes. All it took was a hedge fund group (Pardus Capital Management LP) to make some suggestions about our financial future and the stock market went wild. Perhaps that was their goal; to squeeze a little temporary value out of the market and increase their holdings. Or maybe something else is going on.

The old adage, ‘where there's smoke there's fire’ seems appropriate. Delta’s response to the rumors didn’t exactly ring with fervor and confidence. Their denials of merger talks with United were hedged with qualifiers and subtle warnings.

Let’s talk about what we do know. Ed and Richard in their November 14th letter to “Delta Colleagues Worldwide” stated this.... “our Board of Directors had already established a special committee to work along side management to review and analyze strategic options, including potential consolidation transactions. We’ve also retained financial and legal advisors to assist in this review and in the development of recommendations.”

Yep, Delta is looking to consolidate; merge, if you will. That is a given. Ed Bastian, in his visit to SLC, actually said as much, although his characterization of United Airlines wasn’t the least bit complimentary. He loudly reiterated Delta’s intention to be the “acquirer” in any future consolidation transaction. He described United Airlines as someone looking “to be bought.”

Don’t worry my fellow Delta ramp employees, no matter what happens, you have iron clad promises and commitments that your seniority will be protected in the event of a merger. As a matter of fact, it is now a Company policy to do so.

Delta has promised to protect your seniority but they haven’t promised to protect your job. That is the subtle difference that they aren’t discussing with you. Why do you think companies look to acquire or merge? To save money! Consolidation means just that; to shrink, to condense, to eliminate duplication. The goal is to increase productivity by reducing manpower in consolidated cities.

It doesn’t matter what airline we merge with, someone is going to lose their job, some equipment is going to be sold, as well as gates and departure slots. People are going to go away. Who do you think that will be? Agents with a contract, or agents without one?

It doesn’t matter who the acquiring carrier is, it doesn’t matter who the contracts go to or what name is on the side of the plane. Somebody is going down the road. Don’t look for the Delta Board Council to go to Washington again and lobby for the Airline. That ship has sailed. Delta got what they wanted out of that process. They got us through bankruptcy, secured their equity shares, got rich and the DBC is still in fade mode. You won’t find Anne Larkin roaming the halls of Congress wearing a “You Can Have My Widget When You Pry It From My Cold Dead Fingers” button. There won’t be a repeat of the ‘Velvet Rope Tour’.

Hopefully none of us is dumb enough to be played twice on the same con. Although you never know or fully comprehend the capacity for some people to not see the train coming at them in the dark tunnel.

Here are two more things we know, and they turn out to be the most important:

Today, we have ABSOLUTELY NO VOICE in the process we are facing.
Tomorrow we can change that, by simply signing an IAM authorization card.

There is really only one way to secure our future, to have any hope of fairness or equitable treatment. We have to finish the job of organizing. We must unionize. Even those of us who are always last to read the tea leaves must, by now, be coming to the inevitable realization of our dire situation.