Managing The Peaks and Valleys

The airline industry has seasonal operation fluctuations. To manage these peaks and valleys, the IAM and Northwest Airlines negotiated the Special Leave Incentive Program or SLIP Leave. A SLIP Leave allows senior workers to voluntarily take a layoff with unemployment compensation. Additionally, workers on SLIP Leave continue to have medical insurance. They continue to accrue vacation, sick and OJI time. They accrue pension credits and seniority. They keep their flight benefits. Junior workers get to stay on the job and keep all their benefits. It is a win for all workers in the station.

This stands in stark contrast to the approach Delta has for managing seasonal downturns. Delta simply sends Ready Reserve workers home when their bid is over or they reach the cap number of hours allowed. This group of disposable workers gets no seniority toward a pay progression. They have no clear and defined path to get a full time or permanent position. They get no medical benefits, no vacation, no OJI, no sick pay, no long term disability – nothing but an hourly wage.

Delta commends themselves for the fact that they don’t lay off their employees. But this is not actually true. They simply use Ready Reserves to absorb the shock of seasonal downturns. Is this the best way to deal with the cyclical nature of our industry – on the backs of the most junior employees? We think using SLIP Leaves is the better way. It is guaranteed in our union contract.

Retiree Medical

According to a Delta informational sheet dated 12/01/2009, the monthly rate for PMDL retiree medical insurance for the Gold HRA is $624.47 for employee only. For PMNW - IAM retirees the rate for PPO Option B is $195.83. This represents a savings of $5743.68 in one year for IAM represented retirees.

For employee and spouse the Gold HRA retiree rate is $1248.94 per month. The retiree rate for PPO Option B for employee and spouse is $422.74. This is a savings of $9904.40 per year for an IAM retiree and spouse. Ed Bastian stated publicly at a 2009 Town Hall Meeting that Delta will not continue to subsidize retiree medical if the IAM loses.