Delta Pilots Unhappy With Current Contract

Delta Air Lines pilots want more money from the nation’s third-largest carrier, saying the airline extracted a pay cut in contract negotiations last year and then gave raises to nonunion employees.

Leaders of the airline’s pilots union are meeting in Dallas this week to discuss the possible use of informational pickets and other strategies to pressure Delta to negotiate a raise. The union has not said how much more it wants. The average Delta pilot earns between $110,000 and $120,000 a year.

“When the airline said it needed help, the pilots stepped up to the plate and gave Delta $1 billion in savings … in decreases in pay, benefits and vacation. They looked at it as an investment,” said Karen McGuffey, a spokeswoman for the Airline Pilots Association.

“Now that Delta has record earnings and is giving pay raises and vacation increases to noncontract employees, it’s time to be fair to the pilots,” she said.