Delta pilot union leaders ratify proposal

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- By a vote of 18 to 4, the governing body of Delta Air Lines pilots' union Wednesday ratified the tentative agreement reached last month by the negotiating team.

According to the Air Line Pilots Association, the proposal with Delta includes pay increases that range from 24 percent to 34 percent over the life of the four-year contract.

"This agreement will make Delta pilots the best paid in the industry and will provide other significant improvements," said Delta chairman and chief executive Leo Mullin after union negotiators and the airline negotiated the deal on April 22.

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The 9,800 Delta pilots represented by ALPA must vote on the proposal by noon ET June 20. The package must be ratified by a simple majority.

Also included in the tentative agreement, according to the union, are job security enhancements, full retroactive pay back to May 2000, and retirement and vacation improvements.

"After carefully reviewing the agreement, a majority of the governing body believes that this contract recognizes the Delta pilots for the significant investment they made in the company five years ago," said Capt. Charles S. Giambusso, Chairman of the Delta Master Executive Council (MEC), a unit of ALPA. "Now, it is time for the pilot group to weigh in on the tentative agreement."

Delta and the union began labor talks in September 1999, but the most recent round of negotiations started April 18 in Washington with federal mediators.

A Delta spokesman said the company is pleased by the tentative agreement.

"We are hopeful that the contract will be ratified in the coming weeks so that all of us at Delta can focus more fully on our customers," said spokesman Russ Williams.

Some pilots have criticized the proposal over retirement benefits, crew scheduling and the continuation of a lower-wage system at Delta Express.

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Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Line Pilots Association

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