LAYOFFS NOT THE BIGGEST WORRY

SENIORITY PROTECTION IN DOUBT
MORE CAPACITY CUTS COMING SYSTEMWIDE

On December 2nd Delta announced that due to the soft economy and the recently announced year long recession, it would be necessary to cut capacity system wide. Delta stated that “domestic capacity will be down 8-10% and international capacity will be down approximately 3-5%.”

Obviously this will mean a reduction in staffing worldwide and cuts among us will be inevitable. We involved in the union effort have been honest about this from the beginning and have wondered when Delta was going to be truthful with us.

On December 3rd Richard Anderson paid a surprise visit to the ATL Reservations Center. He apparently wowed them with his charm and charisma, soothing their fears and calming the anxiety with his communications dexterity. One employee said that: “It’s a scary feeling to those being laid off, but Richard assured us that would be the last resort.”

Apparently the General Sales and Service agent who asked the question doesn’t know Delta’s past history very well. Delta doesn’t lay people off…they get rid of people. There will be a buy-out offered to reduce staff permanently; if not enough people take the offer, Delta will start to use tougher methods. People don’t get laid off because that would allow them to collect unemployment and cause Delta’s insurance rates to go up.

Delta’s past history is more ruthless. We don’t have a system-wide seniority roster and we have no movement rights. If a city has too many workers and not enough takers to the early-out programs, options become very limited. Ask those who have already gone through the process during our ‘7.5’ reductions of the past.

You don’t get to choose just any city to move to. If you are lucky enough to be offered the ability to move on, Delta decides which cities you can ask to go to and they decide which one you land in and which department you have to work at.

The process is not transparent and station managers can pick and choose without any oversight or fairness. Seniority rights are practically non-existent and certain managers attempt to protect their own low seniority personnel by not being available to receive any displaced higher seniority employees.

Our Northwest friends who are still under a contract will fare better in this process. Their seniority rights and movement rights will be honored and protected because of their IAM representation. Those of you who wonder what union dues go to will find out when the hatchet-man comes calling in your city.

Delta’s use of the ‘Ready Reserve’ program will greatly expand during this process and employees who want to stay in cities that will have staffing reductions will most probably be offered the ‘opportunity’ to dump their part-time status and jump to the RR program.

We counsel all employees to not fall for this trick. Many employees who have gone the Ready Reserve route have found it impossible to get back to part or full-time status.

Having no insurance and not building seniority towards pay increases is a dead-end career that will never change without union representation. Avoid this decision if at all possible. The only chance for change and protection from this is by having a Union…the IAM.

Good luck to everyone and keep signing those union authorization cards. Victory is in sight and a better day will be on all of our horizons.